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We determined the relative efficacy of non-surgical monotherapies for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Network meta-analyses were conducted to determine treatments' surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) value (i.e. an estimate that ranks efficacy); pairwise comparisons were conducted. Ten trials were eligible for quantitative analyses; however, all did not have a common endpoint. Outcomes corresponded to pain severity, clinical response, quality of life and abscess count. For pain reduction, infliximab was ranked most efficacious (SUCRA = 94%) compared to bermekimab, anakinra and placebo; infliximab reduced pain more significantly (p <.05) than anakinra and then placebo. For the occurrence of clinical response, bimekizumab had the highest SUCRA (67%) relative to adalimumab, anakinra and placebo; bimekizumab was more efficacious than placebo (p <.05). For the quality of life in mild HS, Botox had the highest SUCRA (94%) compared to adalimumab and placebo; Botox was more efficacious than placebo (p <.05). For reduction in abscess count, oral tetracycline had the highest SUCRA (48%) compared to topical clindamycin and vehicle. Our work—being the first NMA study on non-surgical HS monotherapies—contributes to the comparative effectiveness literature for this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various treatments exist for androgenetic alopecia (AGA); we determined the relative efficacies of non-surgical AGA monotherapies separately for men and women. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were systematically searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and clinicaltrials.gov. Separate networks were used for men and women; for each network, a Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) of mean change in hair count from baseline (in units of hairs per square centimeter) was performed using a random effects model. The networks for male and female AGA included 30 and 10 RCTs, respectively. We identified the following treatments for male AGA in decreasing rank of efficacy: platelet-rich plasma (PRP), low-level laser therapy (LLLT), 0.5 mg dutasteride, 1 mg finasteride, 5% minoxidil, 2% minoxidil, and bimatoprost. For female AGA the following were identified in decreasing rank of efficacy: LLLT, 5% minoxidil, and 2% minoxidil. The evidence quality of the highest ranked therapies, for male and female AGA, was judged to be low. While newer treatments like LLLT may be more efficacious than more traditional therapies like 5% minoxidil, the efficacy of the more recent treatment modalities needs to be further validated by future RCTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]