Staph Infection Prevention While on Accutane

Question

I've just started taking Accutane (20mg/AM, 40mg/PM). My doctor also prescribed me Mupirocin ointment as a precaution to avoid getting a staph infection. I have never had a staph infection before. Should I continue to use this twice a day for 6 months?

Don Mehrabi, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.
Mupirocin is excellent for treating open wounds or treating nasal staph colonization, but is not routinely prescribed empirically for patients on accutane. While accutane can cause nasal dryness and crusting and drying of acne nodules (early in treatment), routine mupirocin treatment to prevent this is not customary. I haven't seen an increased incidence of staph infections in accutane treated patients and don't expect that there is an added benefit to making you use mupirocin twice daily to prevent this.
The only benefit I can see for mupirocin in accutane patients would be if there is excessive nasal dryness or skin crusting or scabbing in the initial months of accutane treatment.
Hope this helps!

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