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Commentary: acne, isotretinoin and suicide attempts
Author(s) -
Margolis D.J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10371.x
Subject(s) - isotretinoin , acne , medicine , suicidal ideation , dermatology , population , adverse effect , acne treatment , psychiatry , poison control , injury prevention , medical emergency , environmental health
The comment on information bias is interesting: is there a possibility that patients treated with isotretinoin would be more likely to have their suicidal behaviour recorded? This may be the case today, but during the 1980s the suspicion of an association between isotretinoin and psychiatric sideeffects was not widespread, and maybe even less so among psychiatrists. More importantly, the suicide attempts included in this study all led to hospitalization; assuming a higher propensity to admit a patient who has made a suicide attempt because of isotretinoin treatment may seem a bit farfetched.