OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical therapeutic effect of Qingre Cuochuang tablet (QCT) in treating female delayed acne vulgaris (FDAV, with patients age more than 25 years old), to evaluate objectively the sexual hormone in patients and to assess the effect of QCT on sexual hormone.

METHODSSixty FDAV patients were randomly divided into the treated group (n = 40) and the control group (n = 20), they were treated with QCT and western medicine (including antisterone, tetracycline and metronidazole) respectively. Besides, 10 healthy female subjects aged > or = 25 years were selected as normal control. Serum levels of testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) in all patients and healthy subjects as well as the clinical therapeutic effect of the treatments were observed and compared.

RESULTSThe total effective rate in the treated group and the control group was 92.5% and 90.0% respectively, comparison between them showed insignificant difference. Serum level of T in the patients before treatment were higher than that in healthy subjects (P < 0.01), and showed no difference between the treated group and the control group. After treatment, it lowered significantly in the treated group (P < 0.01), but unchanged in the control group, E2 level showed no significant change in both groups before and after treatment.

CONCLUSIONQCT has definite clinical effect in treating FDAV, it could lower the serum level of T and with few adverse reaction.