Acne usually affects the face and upper trunk. As Dr. Agustín Viera Ramírez, a specialist at the Ivalia Dermatology Clinic and Head of the Dermatology Department of the Vithas Santa Catalina Hospital, explains, each type of acne is treated differently, and treatment strategies are established by grouping patients according to their profile.
The reality of acne patients is far from approaches based on the “acne sign” or on the mild, moderate or intense intensity of an episode. When a patient is evaluated, the reality reflects different situations. It is not the same whether the acne leaves marks or not, whether it affects an adolescent or an adult, whether the adult is male or female, whether the skin is reactive or has some underlying disease…
Dermatology specialists who treat acne consider all of the above, and to do so it is best to group patients into profiles and provide them with specific solutions to their problems. A profile is a group of patients with common and identifiable characteristics that allows diagnostic and treatment strategies to be established.
The 10 main acne patient profiles
- Adolescent with polymorphous, non-scarring acne.
- Adolescent, SOP phenotype.
- Hyperandrogenic adolescent.
- Female, adult with mild-moderate acne, recurrent acne “acne status”.
- Female, adult with mild-moderate acne and sensitive skin.
- Male, adult with acne.
- Active cicatricial acne.
- DLQI (Dermatology Life Quality Index). Patient with mood disorder.
- Acne sequelae and scarring.
- Acne associated with a systemic condition.
Objectives to be achieved for each patient profile
- Control of the acute episode.
- Long-term control.
- Cosmetic care planning.
- Regularization of menstrual cycles if necessary.
- Metabolic control if needed.
- Informed knowledge of your process.
- Adherence to treatment.