A multicenter randomized trial of ketoconazole 2% and zinc pyrithione 1% shampoos in severe dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Ketoconazole in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Ketoconazole (KET) and zinc pyrithione (ZPT) are compounds active against the Malassezia spp. yeasts, which are believed to play a major role in dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.

This open randomized, parallel-group trial began with a 2-week run-in phase during which subjects applied a neutral non-antidandruff shampoo.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 343 subjects taking part.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers, adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

It was followed by a 4-week randomized treatment phase and a subsequent 4-week follow-up phase without treatment.

A total of 343 subjects were recruited to enter the trial.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized and parallel-group study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Ketoconazole and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

The Ketoconazole group and the comparison group ran side by side rather than switching.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Chi-Square Distribution, Dermatitis, Seborrheic, Hair Preparations, Ketoconazole, Organometallic Compounds, Pyridines and Scalp Dermatoses.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and parallel-group study of Ketoconazole in 343 subjects.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The publication is from 2003 (Skin pharmacology and applied skin physiology), a journal based in Switzerland.

More context: all human trials.