Oxybutynin effective treatment option for hyperhidrosis

A new study published in Archives of Dermatological Research shows the importance of oxybutynin as a hyperhidrosis therapy must be emphasized for clinicians.

A physiological method of regulating body temperature in humans is sweating. A somatic illness known as hyperhidrosis causes excessive sweating in a specific location due to overactive sweat glands. The sufferers' quality of life is significantly impacted. We want to find out how well oxybutynin works to treat hyperhidrosis and how satisfied patients are with the medication. In order to better understand patient satisfaction and the efficacy of oxybutynin in treating hyperhidrosis, this study was done.

The protocol for this systematic review and meta-analysis was prospectively reported by researchers on PROSPERO. The PRISMA statement reporting requirements were followed while reporting this systematic review and meta-analysis. MeSH phrases were used to search three electronic databases (Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science) from the beginning through June 2, 2022. Research compared hyperhidrosis patients who got oxybutynin versus a placebo. The Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool (ROB2) for randomized controlled trials was used to evaluate the risk of bias. Using a random effect model with 95% confidence intervals, the risk ratio was estimated for categorical variables, while the mean difference was determined for continuous variables (CI).

The key findings of this study were:

1. The meta-analysis includes six trials with 293 patients in total.

2. Patients were randomly randomized to receive either Oxybutynin or a placebo in each study.

3. An improvement in HDSS was provided by oxybutynin. It may also raise one's standard of living.

4. For dry mouth, there is no distinction between oxybutynin and placebo.

Experts advise doing further high-quality, homogenous, well-designed RCTs with HH patients who are genuinely ill in order to examine the effectiveness and safety of oxybutynin. Future studies should assess how the drug's side effects affect the patient's quality of life and determine what to do if the patient cannot tolerate the medication. Future research should compare the outcomes of various treatment modalities. Finally, they advise using oxybutynin in individuals with HH until more evidence is developed.

Reference:

El-Samahy, M., Mouffokes, A., Badawy, M. M., Amro, S., Fayad, T., & Abdelwahab, O. A. (2023). Safety and efficacy of oxybutynin in patients with hyperhidrosis: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. In Archives of Dermatological Research. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-023-02587-5