SynthesisAmerican journal of clinical dermatology2023
Isotretinoin Exposure and Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis.
Synthesis in American journal of clinical dermatology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Expert Consensus on the Rational Approach to Isotretinoin Usage for Effective Management of Acne: ERAISE ACNE Recommendations.Dermatology and therapy · 2026Review
- Prevalence, age-distribution, and impact on management of acne in patients on upadacitinib for inflammatory bowel disease: insights from a single-center survey.Crohn's & colitis 360 · 2026Article
- Optimizing Janus kinase inhibitor therapy for ulcerative colitis: a real-world perspective.Intestinal research · 2026Review
- Local prevalence and management of Janus kinase inhibitor-induced acne among adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease.Crohn's & colitis 360 · 2026Article
- Article
- Psychiatric comorbidities, inflammatory bowel disease, and urticaria in acne vulgaris patients undergoing isotretinoin treatment: a multicenter cohort study from the TriNetX database.Archives of dermatological research · 2025Article
- Epidemiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease across the Ages in the Era of Advanced Therapies.Journal of Crohn's & colitis · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) following isotretinoin use have been reported previously, but whether isotretinoin exposure is associated with IBD has been unclear.
objectiveThe aim was to evaluate whether isotretinoin use is associated with IBD.
methodsWe performed a systematic review and searched MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL databases from inception to January 27, 2023 for relevant case-control and cohort studies. Our outcome was the pooled odds ratio (OR) for IBD and its two subtypes (Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis) in relation to isotretinoin exposure. We conducted a random-effects model meta-analysis and a sensitivity analysis by excluding low-quality studies. A subgroup analysis was undertaken by including studies considering antibiotic use. A trial sequential analysis (TSA) was performed to test the robustness of the conclusiveness of our results.
resultsWe included eight studies (four case-control and four cohort studies) with a total of 2,522,422 participants. The meta-analysis found no increased odds for IBD among patients receiving isotretinoin (OR 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.80-1.27). Nor did the meta-analysis find increased odds for either Crohn disease (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.65-1.15) or ulcerative colitis (OR 1.27; 95% CI 0.94-1.73) associated with isotretinoin exposure. The sensitivity and subgroup analyses produced similar results. In TSA, the Z-curve reached the futility boundaries when using relative risk reduction thresholds ranging from 5% to 15%.
conclusionThis meta-analysis with TSA found no evidence of an association of isotretinoin use with IBD. Isotretinoin should not be withheld because of unnecessary concerns for the development of IBD. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NO: CRD42022298886.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.