There exists little evidence regarding a safe and effective treatment for cutaneous warts.

The objective of a recent study published in Dermatologic Therapy was to evaluate treatment outcome, side effects and patient satisfaction after topical application of cantharidin 1% podophyllin 2% salicylic acid 30% (CPS1) solution.

This study recruited 52 children and 83 adults with cutaneous warts. All participants were treated with CPS1 solution between October 2012 and October 2014.

It was observed that complete clearance of warts occurred in 86.5% of children and 62.7% of adults treated with CPS1 solution. Whereas, the resolution of warts was partial in 3.9 and 24.1% and absent in 9.6 and 13.2% of children and adults, respectively. Side effects were present in 41.2% of children and 46.3% of adults. Most common side effects were blistering, pain and burning sensation. Moreover, no serious adverse events occurred. On a 10‐point scale, the median patient satisfaction score was 9.0 (interquartile range 7.8–10.0) and 8.0 (interquartile range 5.1–9.7) – for children and adults, respectively.

From the findings, it was concluded that CPS1 solution is a safe and promising treatment modality with a high clearance and high patient satisfaction rate for the management of cutaneous warts, particularly in children.

Source: Dermatologic Therapy.2019 Nov-Dec; 32(6): e13143. doi: 10.1111/dth.13143