Duct tape for common warts
Trial question
Is duct tape occlusion superior to cryotherapy in patients with warts?
Study design
Single center
Open label
RCT
Population
Characteristics of study participants
51.0% female
49.0% male
N = 51
51 patients (26 female, 25 male).
Inclusion criteria: patients (age range, 3-22 years) with warts.
Key exclusion criteria: immunodeficiency states; chronic skin diseases, such as eczema or psoriasis; allergy to adhesive tape; warts located on the face, periungual, perianal, or genital areas; and previous cryotherapy for the same wart.
Interventions
N=26 local treatment with duct tape occlusion (applied directly to the wart for a maximum of 2 months).
N=25 local cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen applied to each wart for 10 seconds every 2-3 weeks for a maximum of 6 treatments).
Primary outcome
Complete resolution of wart
85%
60%
85.0 %
63.8 %
42.5 %
21.3 %
0.0 %
Local treatment with duct tape
occlusion
Local
cryotherapy
Significant
increase ▲
NNT = 4
Significant increase in complete resolution of wart (85% vs. 60%; AD 25%, 95% CI 1.1 to 48.9).
Conclusion
In patients (age range, 3-22 years) with warts, local treatment with duct tape occlusion was superior to local cryotherapy with respect to complete resolution of wart.
Reference
Focht DR rd, Spicer C, Fairchok MP. The efficacy of duct tape vs cryotherapy in the treatment of verruca vulgaris (the common wart). Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002 Oct;156(10):971-4.
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