english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2012 > Warts: spontaneous healing is frequent

Spotlight: Archives

Every month, the subjects in Prescrire’s Spotlight.

2012 : 1 | 30 | 60 | 90

Warts: spontaneous healing is frequent

Plantar warts have a high healing rate over time. Treatments make little difference.

Common skin and plantar warts are infections of the epidermis caused by the papillomavirus. They are frequent and not serious, but can cause discomfort. Some 50% of common warts disappear within a year, and 75% within two years. Plantar warts disappear spontaneously just as often, but more slowly.

Treatment is sometimes offered when the wart is causing discomfort, pain, is exposed to trauma or infected. The application of salicylic acid to the wart and cryotherapy (freezing) with liquid nitrogen are two methods intended to speed up healing.

A clinical trial was carried out among 250 patients aged between 4 and 79. Half of the patients had plantar warts, and the other half common warts. Three methods were compared: cryotherapy, salicylic Vaseline and no treatment. The difference between cryotherapy and no treatment was statistically significant: 69% of patients treated with cryotherapy declared they were satisfied, as against 24% of patients treated with salicylic Vaseline and 22% of patients who received no treatment.

In the sub-category of patients with plantar warts, the healing rate was similar in all three groups. The warts disappeared within 13 months among children aged 4 to 12, as opposed to only 5% of cases among children over 12.

In this trial, patients treated with cryotherapy suffered more frequent adverse effects: pain, irritation, burning, scarring and pigmentation disorders, none severe. Furthermore, salicylic acid and cryotherapy should not be prescribed to diabetic patients or those suffering from a neuropathic disorder or lower limb arterial disease.

©Prescrire 1 May 2012

"Warts: frequent spontaneous clearance" Prescrire Int 2012; 21 (126): 131. (Pdf, subscribers only).
Download the full review.
Pdf, subscribers only