Clinical Outcomes of Adding Topical Cetirizine to Minoxidil Therapy in Patients with Androgenetic Alopeci.

Abstract

Objective: The objective is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding 1% topical cetirizine to 5% topical minoxidil compared with topical minoxidil alone in patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA).

Methods: In this single-blind randomized clinical trial, 62 patients with AGA were allocated to receive either topical minoxidil 5% twice daily (monotherapy group, n = 31) or topical minoxidil 5% twice daily plus topical cetirizine 1% once daily (adjunctive therapy group, n = 31) for 16 weeks. Primary outcomes included changes in hair density and hair diameter scores. Secondary outcomes were global photography score, patient satisfaction, and treatment-related adverse events.

Findings: Both groups demonstrated improvement from baseline in hair density and hair diameter scores after 16 weeks of treatment. However, no significant differences were observed between groups in hair density score (0.65 ± 0.61 vs. 0.68 ± 0.60, P = 0.987), hair diameter score (1.29 ± 0.59 vs. 1.39 ± 0.62, P = 0.628), or global photography score (1.00 ± 0.68 vs. 1.06 ± 0.57, P = 0.697). Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the adjunctive therapy group than in the monotherapy group (1.82 ± 1.07 vs. 1.13 ± 0.85, P = 0.004). Two cases of local irritation were reported in the monotherapy group, whereas no adverse events were reported in the adjunctive therapy group.

Conclusion: The addition of 1% topical cetirizine to topical minoxidil did not result in superior objective hair-growth outcomes compared with minoxidil alone. Although patient satisfaction was higher among patients receiving adjunctive cetirizine, this finding may be attributable to factors other than a direct pharmacologic effect. Further double-blind, vehicle-controlled studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to clarify the role of topical cetirizine in the management of AGA.