Dear Editor,
Whereas benzoyl peroxide (BPO) may result in itching and burning, microencapsulated benzoyl peroxide 5% (E-BPO cream) encapsulates the BPO which may reduce irritation by limiting the direct contact of BPO with the skin.1 Results from two phase 3 trials found that E-BPO was efficacious in reducing inflammatory lesion counts in patients with papulopustular rosacea.1 Moreover, E-BPO was tolerable and demonstrated good safety, with no treatment-related serious adverse events (AEs). FDA has indicated the use of this treatment (Epsolay/E-BPO) for inflammatory lesions of rosacea in adults. Assessing public sentiment can play an important role in ensuring a commitment to patient-centered care through understanding patient attitudes and expectations toward the treatment alongside complementing post-market surveillance and patient-focused drug development. As such, we sought to investigate public sentiment toward this treatment pre- and post-FDA approval based on comments posted by Reddit users.
The RedditExtractoR package was used to retrieve all posted comments using the keyword Epsolay on March 29.2 The Syuzhet package to assess post sentiment.3 All retrieved comments were assessed manually and were assigned an author type (consumer, investor, blogger, or other) based on content or Reddit account postings. Comments were separated into pre- and post-FDA approval based on the April 22, 2022, FDA approval date. These comments were analyzed for differences in sentiment across 8 emotions (anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, and trust).
We retrieved 176 comments, attributable to 102 unique authors, from 28 distinct threads on Reddit. Sixty-four (36.36%) comments were posted before approval and 112 (63.64%) comments were posted after FDA approval. A majority of unique authors were individuals with rosacea 61 (59.80%). On the whole, comment sources were varied, with consumers authoring a majority of comments 96 (54.55%), followed by investors 52 (29.55%), bloggers 14 (7.95%), and others 14 (7.95%). Fewer messages expressed anger (20.3% vs 26.8%), anticipation (40.6% vs 49.1%), disgust (14.1% vs 25.0%), joy (26.6% vs 41.1%), sadness (17.2% vs 25.9%), and surprise (25.0% vs 31.2%) before vs after FDA approval. After FDA approval, messages expressed less fear (21.4% vs 28.1%) and more trust (44.6% vs 43.8%), compared to before FDA approval (Figure 1).
We retrieved 176 comments, attributable to 102 unique authors, from 28 distinct threads on Reddit. Sixty-four (36.36%) comments were posted before approval and 112 (63.64%) comments were posted after FDA approval. A majority of unique authors were individuals with rosacea 61 (59.80%). On the whole, comment sources were varied, with consumers authoring a majority of comments 96 (54.55%), followed by investors 52 (29.55%), bloggers 14 (7.95%), and others 14 (7.95%). Fewer messages expressed anger (20.3% vs 26.8%), anticipation (40.6% vs 49.1%), disgust (14.1% vs 25.0%), joy (26.6% vs 41.1%), sadness (17.2% vs 25.9%), and surprise (25.0% vs 31.2%) before vs after FDA approval. After FDA approval, messages expressed less fear (21.4% vs 28.1%) and more trust (44.6% vs 43.8%), compared to before FDA approval (Figure 1).
-on-Reddit---Pre--and-Post-FDA-Approval_Figure1.png)
There were more messages expressing positive sentiment after FDA approval (65.2% vs 48.4%). There was a significant difference in the proportion of positive messages after FDA approval (P=0.030), and messages expressed significantly more joyous sentiment (P=0.023). See Table 1 for examples of comments with associated sentiments.
Several limitations limit the applicability of these findings. While we manually assessed comments, it is possible that some were authored by bots. Also, this analysis only assessed the sentiment of comments posted to Reddit, and it is possible that the sentiment of Reddit users toward Epsolay is not representative of the general public or consumers interested in the product.
Several limitations limit the applicability of these findings. While we manually assessed comments, it is possible that some were authored by bots. Also, this analysis only assessed the sentiment of comments posted to Reddit, and it is possible that the sentiment of Reddit users toward Epsolay is not representative of the general public or consumers interested in the product.
