Abstract: Objective: To assess the efficacy of the combined therapy of topical 2% fusidic acid cream and low dosage of oral minocycline in the treatment of the patients with rosacea. [WT5”HZ]Methods: Twenty patients with rosacea were treated with oral 50mg minocycline, once a day and one side of the face was treated with topical 2% fusidic acidcream, twice a day, and the other side was used as control. Erythema Index (EI), trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin elasticity were assessed after 6 weeks treatment. Results: The effective rate and the EI of the face treated with 2% fusidic acid cream was 83.33% and 982.94±8.09, which was higher than those of the control side (22.22% and 997.94±8.40), with significant differences (P<0.05). TEWL of the face treated with 2% fusidic acid cream was 16.17±3.79, which was lower than those of the control side (21.28±3.88), with a significant difference (P<0.05). There was no significant difference of the skin elasticity between the face treated with 2% fusidic acid cream and control side. Conclusion: Combined therapy of topical 2% fusidic acid cream and low dosage of oral minocycline is more effcetive for the treatment of rosacea than oral treatment alone. 

Key words: rosacea, fusidic acid, minocycline