Comparison of Efficacy of Clotrimazole 1% Cream with Sertaconazole 2% Cream in Treatment of Adult Seborrheic Dermatitis

Seborrheic dermatitis is a common inflammatory skin disease characterized by erythema, scaling, and pruritus. Antifungals are among the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of this disease. In this regard, the present study investigated the efficacy of two medications including clotrimazole 1% and sertaconazole 2% in the treatment of adult seborrheic dermatitis.

This double-blinded randomized clinical trial was performed on 100 patients over the age of 18 with seborrheic dermatitis referring to Farshchian hospital, Hamadan, Iran. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups. The participants in one group received sertaconazole twice a day for four weeks and another group received clotrimazole within this period of time. After two weeks, the patients were examined in terms of clinical symptoms and side effects of medications. Moreover, they were reexamined for recurrence of disease after the completion of treatment and four weeks later. Furthermore, the level of patients' satisfaction was evaluated four weeks after treatment.

Mean and standard deviation of Scoring Index 7.16±2.20 and 6.45±2.10 before treatment (P=0.184), 4.08 ± 1.82 and 2.78 ± 2.14 two weeks after treatment (P<0.001), and 2.62 ± 2.13 and 0.89 ± 1.09 four weeks after the end of treatment (P<0.001). Additionally, the relapse rate in clotrimazole and sertaconazole groups was found to be 32% and 21.7%, respectively. Furthermore, the complication rate was reported as 8% and 8.5% in clotrimazole group and sertaconazole group, respectively (P=0.220). Moreover, the rate of good satisfaction in clotrimazole and sertaconazole groups was reported as 38% and 71.1% (P<0.001), respectively.

Based on the results of the study, the frequency of complications and recurrence of disease in patients treated with sertaconazole was comparable to treatment with clotrimazole. However, sertoconazole was found to be more effective and bring more satisfaction to patients.