RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Randomised controlled trial of topical kanuka honey for the treatment of rosacea
JF BMJ Open
JO BMJ Open
FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group
SP e007651
DO 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-007651
VO 5
IS 6
A1 Irene Braithwaite
A1 Anna Hunt
A1 Judith Riley
A1 James Fingleton
A1 Janwillem Kocks
A1 Andrew Corin
A1 Colin Helm
A1 Davitt Sheahan
A1 Christopher Tofield
A1 Barney Montgomery
A1 Mark Holliday
A1 Mark Weatherall
A1 Richard Beasley
YR 2015
UL http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/6/e007651.abstract
AB Objective To investigate the efficacy of topical 90% medical-grade kanuka honey and 10% glycerine (Honevo) as a treatment for rosacea.Design Randomised controlled trial with blinded assessment of primary outcome variable.Setting Outpatient primary healthcare population from 5 New Zealand sites.Participants 138 adults aged ≥16, with a diagnosis of rosacea, and a baseline blinded Investigator Global Assessment of Rosacea Severity Score (IGA-RSS) of ≥2. 69 participants were randomised to each treatment arm. 1 participant was excluded from the Honevo group, and 7 and 15 participants withdrew from the Honevo and control groups, respectively.Interventions Participants were randomly allocated 1:1 to Honevo or control cream (Cetomacrogol), applied twice daily for 8 weeks.Main outcome measures The primary outcome measure was the proportion of participants who had a ≥2 improvement in the 7-point IGA-RSS at week 8 compared to baseline. Secondary outcomes included change in IGA-RSS and subject-rated visual analogue score of change in severity (VAS-CS) on a 100 mm scale (0 mm ‘much worse’, 100 mm ‘much improved’) at weeks 2 and 8.Results 24/68 (34.3%) in the Honevo group and 12/69 (17.4%) in the control group had a ≥2 improvement in IGA-RSS at week 8 compared to baseline (relative risk 2.03; 95% CI 1.11 to 3.72, p=0.020). The change in IGA-RSS for Honevo compared to control at week 2 minus baseline was −1 (Hodges-Lehman estimate, 95% CI −1 to 0, p=0.03), and at week 8 minus baseline was −1 (Hodges-Lehman estimate, 95% CI −1 to 0, p=0.005). The VAS-CS at week 2 was 9.1 (95% CI 3.5 to 14.7), p=0.002, and at week 8 was 12.3 (95% CI 5.7 to 18.9)¸ p<0.001 for Honevo compared to control.Conclusions Honevo is an effective treatment for rosacea.Trial registration number This trial was registered in the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12614000004662.