Treatment of Wart by Formic acid

Yang, Jin Seok; Park, Hyun Jeong; Lee, Jun Young; Cho, Baik Kee

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Various modalities are available to treat warts, but surgical or destructive treatments are problematic in children and intolerable patients because these modalities are painful and frightening. For these reasons, some treatment strategies, such as keratolytic, caustic, and immunomodulatory agents, to reduce pain and discomfort are under investigation.
OBJECTIVE
This study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 85% formic acid for the treatment of warts.
METHODS
Twenty patients with 52 lesions of warts were included. Formic acid was applied to the warts using stick 1 to 5 times according to the degree of response. This procedure was repeated at 2-6 day-intervals until the lesions disappeared. Assessment for response and the occurrence of side-effects was performed every visit until clinical cure or up to a maximum of 10 weeks
RESULTS
Twenty-six of 52 (50%) lesions showed complete clearance. Fifteen (29%) showed partial clearance-good, which is a >50% reduction in wart size, and 10 (19%) showed partial clearance-poor, which is a <50% reduction. Only one(2%) showed no response. The number of treatments required for the warts to disappear was 1-9 (mean 5). Seven patients reported adverse effects, such as pain, stinging, nail discoloration, and erythema, but were generally mild and transient.
CONCLUSION
85% formic acid is a relatively safe and effective alternative in the treatment of warts with few side-effects and good compliance.