Background: Acne is an inflammation of the hair follicle and sebaceous gland. In fact, when having acnes, patients often treat themselves by various methods. In particular, abuse of topical corticosteroids is a very common problem today. This results in clinical cases, especially the increase in bacterial, superficial infection and bacterial resistance, which should be taken into account.
Objective: To identify the infection proportion of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) distributed according to the characteristics of acne patients using topical corticosteroids and the antibiotic resistance rate of P. acnes in these patients in Can Tho Dermatology Hospital.
Materials and Methods: An analytical, cross-sectional descriptive study of 90 acne patients using topical corticosteroids who came to Can Tho Dermatology Hospital from April 2015 to October 2016.
Results: The overall rate of P. acnes that was isolated from acne patients using topical corticosteroids: 38.9%. In which, comedones (25.7%), cystic nodules (11.4%) and pustules (48.6%). Acne levels mainly were moderate (45.7%) and severe (35.3%). This was mostly concentrated in patients with sensitive skin (60%). The antibiotic resistance rate of P. acnes: Tetracycline (100%), Levofloxacin (65.7%), Erythromycin (91.4%), Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (94.3%), Cefuroxime (54.3%) in which, the resistance to more than 3 antibiotics was 54.3%.
Conclusion: The P. acnes rate isolated from acne patients using topical corticosteroids was 38.9%. The most common type of acne was pustules and this occurred mainly in patients with sensitive skin. Tetracycline, Erythromycin and Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (94.3%) were antibiotics with the highest resistance rate.

Keywords: Acne, Topical corticosteroid, Propionibacterium acnes, Antibiotic resistance