Primary Care and Population Sciences, University of Southampton, Aldermoor Health Centre, Southampton, SO16 5ST, U.K.
Division of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Neuadd Meirionnydd, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, U.K.
Br J Dermatol. 2017 Sep;177(3):751-757. doi: 10.1111/bjd.15398. Epub 2017 Jun 8.
Acne vulgaris is common and can significantly impair quality of life, yet little is known about patients' understanding of acne and its treatments. Oral antibiotics are widely used for acne despite concerns about antibiotic resistance. People are increasingly turning to online discussion forums for advice, and information on these sites may influence health beliefs and treatment adherence.
To explore understandings about the use of oral antibiotics for acne and advice shared among messages posted on online forums.
We systematically searched for online forums and identified four where acne was frequently discussed. Discussion threads relating to oral antibiotics were analysed thematically.
We extracted 136 pages of data comprising 65 discussions among 294 participants. We found a wide range of perceptions around effectiveness of antibiotics for acne and concerns about adverse effects. The delayed onset of action of antibiotics was a source of frustration and compounded dissatisfaction with healthcare providers, who were perceived by people as 'fobbing them off' with prolonged courses of ineffective treatment. Advice ranged from when to ask for or insist on referral to use of costly cleansers. Forum posts related to a wide range of severities, from 'spots' to severe acne, which may make it confusing for users to assess appropriateness of information.
Online forums offer opinions that could confuse patients, or lead to early abandonment of treatments, challenging consultations and patient dissatisfaction. Users expressed frustration about the delayed onset of action of antibiotics for acne, perceptions of only temporary effectiveness and adverse effects.
寻常痤疮较为常见，可显著降低生活质量，但患者对痤疮及其治疗方法的认知情况却知之甚少。尽管存在抗生素耐药问题，但人们仍广泛使用口服抗生素治疗痤疮。人们越来越多地转向在线讨论论坛寻求建议，而这些网站上的信息可能会影响健康信念和治疗依从性。
探讨人们对口服抗生素治疗痤疮的理解以及在线论坛上分享的相关建议。
我们系统性地搜索了在线论坛，并确定了四个经常讨论痤疮的论坛。我们对与口服抗生素相关的讨论线程进行了主题分析。
我们提取了 136 页的数据，其中包含 294 名参与者的 65 次讨论。我们发现，人们对抗生素治疗痤疮的有效性和对不良反应的担忧存在广泛的认知。抗生素的作用时间延迟是导致人们沮丧的一个原因，并加剧了人们对医疗服务提供者的不满，因为人们认为提供者给他们开了长期无效的治疗方案而敷衍了事。建议范围从何时要求或坚持转诊到使用昂贵的清洁剂。论坛帖子涉及从“粉刺”到严重痤疮等各种严重程度，这可能会让用户难以评估信息的适宜性。
在线论坛提供的意见可能会使患者感到困惑，或者导致提前放弃治疗、挑战医患咨询关系以及患者不满。患者对痤疮抗生素作用时间延迟、暂时疗效和不良反应的看法表示不满。
