Combined therapy of local recombinant human interferon α1b injection and acupuncture on verruca vulgaris: a retrospective study.

Verruca vulgaris is always stubborn to treat. We applied a new combined therapy of local recombinant human interferon alpha 1b (rhIFNα1b) injection plus acupuncture on verruca vulgaris recently to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combined therapy. The retrospective study was conducted in The First Hospital of China Medical University from 2018 to 2020. Patients with verruca vulgaris were included. Combined therapy with local rhIFNα1b injection plus acupuncture was set as treatment group, rhIFNα1b injection and carbon dioxide (CO2) laser were set as control groups. A total of 2415 patients were included in the study. The cure rates were 81.85%, 85.93%, and 100% in combined group, rhIFNα1b group, and CO2 laser group, separately. All lesions cured in combined group were located on hands or feet, while majority of lesions cured in other groups were located on other sites. For patients with medium/big single lesion or 6-9 lesions, less treatment times were needed in combined group than rhIFNα1b group. For patients with small single, two to five or more than ten lesions, the treatment times of combined group and rhIFNα1b group were comparable. All patients complained of pain in varying degrees when local injection or laser irradiation. Compared with CO2 laser group, more fever, less swelling or scar was reported in combined group. In conclusion, combined therapy of local rhIFNα1b plus acupuncture was beneficial for verruca vulgaris with limited adverse effects. The therapy was more acceptable by younger female patients with verruca vulgaris.

Successful treatment of a patient with subungual warts using paiteling: A case report.

BACKGROUND: There are many methods to treat subungual wart, but the treatment results are not satisfactory. CASEPRESENTATION: A patient with a 10-year history of subungual warts was cured after using paiteling, and no warts recurred after six months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Paiteling is effective and safe to treat subungual warts.

Psychosocial Burden of Verruca Vulgaris: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Although medically benign, common warts, or verruca vulgaris, may negatively affect emotional wellbeing and quality of life (QoL). The various treatment options, such as liquid nitrogen cryotherapy or Candida antigen injection, can be painful, and repeat trials for wart resolution can be burdensome. Because the psychosocial burden of verruca is likely underestimated, we surveyed adult patients diagnosed and treated with warts at a single academic institution in an urban setting to assess the reported effects on QoL and satisfaction with the different treatment modalities. In domains such as anxiety, social activities, and interpersonal relationships, patients rated impact of warts on a scale of 1-100, with a score of 1 representing “minimal impact” and 100 representing “severe impact.” These numerical ratings were then converted to the validated Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) parameters for consistency with other QoL studies. Our results indicate that patients are “A little” self-conscious or embarrassed by their warts and that their warts caused “A little” anxiety. Although patients reported more discomfort with Candida antigen than with cryotherapy, overall patient satisfaction for the two procedures was identical. Notably, 52% of respondents endorsed attempting home remedies before seeking clinical care, suggesting room for improvement in patient education for initiating dermatologic care. Future studies should examine patients with recalcitrant verruca and patient satisfaction with other management options. J Drugs Dermatol. 2022;21(6):614-617. doi:10.36849/JDD.6773.

A multi center real world observation to evaluate the efficacy of cryotherapy versus local hyperthermia for the treatment of plane warts.

Most plane warts are recalcitrant to treatment. Both cryotherapy and local hyperthermia have been applied to treat plane warts. However, no direct comparative study on their respective efficacy and safety has ever been performed. To assess the efficacy and safety of local hyperthermia at 43 ± 1°C versus liquid nitrogen cryotherapy for plane warts. Sequential patients with plane warts entered the study, either receiving cryotherapy or local hyperthermia therapy at the discretion of the patients and the recommendations of consultants. Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen was delivered in two sessions 2 weeks apart, while local hyperthermia was delivered on three consecutive days, plus two similar treatments 10 ± 3 days later. The temperature over the treated skin surface was set at 43 ± 1°C for 30 min in each session. The primary outcome was the clearance rates of the lesions 6 months after treatment. Among the 194 participants enrolled, 183 were included in the analysis at 6 months. Local hyperthermia and cryotherapy achieved clearance rates of 35.56% (48/135) and 31.25% (15/48), respectively (p = 0.724); recurrence rates of 16.67% (8/48) and 53.33% (8/15) (p = 0.01); and adverse events rates of 20.74% (28/135) and 83.33% (40/48), respectively (p < 0.001). Cryotherapy had a higher pain score (p < 0.001) and a longer healing time (p < 0.001). Local hyperthermia at 43°C and cryotherapy had similar efficacy for plane warts. Local hyperthermia had a safer profile than cryotherapy but it required more treatment visits during a treatment course. More patients preferred local hyperthermia due to its treatment friendly nature.

Escharotic agents: a Victorian remedy in the 21st century.

A 72-year-old woman had a warty growth 'burnt off' with a herbal remedy by a local farmer in rural Ireland. We saw the patient a number of years later in clinic and she brought the specimen with her, which was processed by the pathology department. We report her case and some interesting background information regarding escharotic agents.

Successful treatment of periungual warts with local hyperthermia: report of two cases.

Periungual warts are common warts that grow on the periungual or nail margin, and it's challenging to remove them due to their particular location, causing its high recurrence rate and brings difficulties to the treatments. We successfully cured two cases of stubborn periungual warts by local hyperthermia. A male with warts on his hands and knees and a girl with periungual warts on her fingers received local hyperthermia of 44 °C for 30 min a time. One month after the last treatment, their lesions disappeared entirely and did not relapse during the follow-up period. These two cases showed that local hyperthermia might be a safe and effective method for treating periungual warts in patients with poor traditional treatment.

No efficacy of biofield therapy in the treatment of warts of the hands and feet in adults: a randomized controlled trial.

Although biofield therapy is unexplained by scientific evidence, it has been practised for many years in numerous cultures for a variety of medical conditions. This study aimed to determine whether one session of biofield therapy with an experienced practitioner could treat warts on the hands and feet in adults. A single-blind, assessor-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial was performed between April 2016 and November 2018. The enrolled participants had at least one wart on the hand or foot that had been present for at least 90 days and they were not using any other therapy for the wart. The primary outcome of this trial was the disappearance of the original wart 3 weeks after session of proximal nontouch biofield therapy vs. a sham session. No original wart had disappeared 3 weeks after intervention (0/64), which made the study impossible to conclude on the primary objective. There were no significant differences between the two groups concerning wart disappearance 3 weeks (P = 0.49) or 6 weeks (P = 0.40) after the intervention. Reduction in wart size at Week 3 tended towards a better result for biofield therapy but this was not significant (P = 0.27). No related adverse effects were observed. The major limitation of this trial was the short follow-up time for measurement of clinical outcome, which did not allow verification of the hypothesis. However, this study shows that 3 weeks after a session of proximal nontouch biofield therapy is an insufficient length of time to assess biofield therapy in comparison with a sham session. Based on this study, biofield therapy cannot be recommended to treat warts within 3 weeks.

[Fire needling stripping after local anesthesia for verruca vulgaris: a multi-center randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical therapeutic effect of fire needling stripping after local anesthesia, simple fire needling and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy on verruca vulgaris. METHODS: A total of 900 patients with verruca vulgaris were randomized into a fire needling stripping group (300 cases, 2 cases dropped off), a fire needling group (300 cases, 4 cases dropped off) and a liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group (300 cases, 5 cases dropped off). After local anesthesia of compound lidocaine cream, fire needling therapy was adopted, and the necrotic tissue of verruca was stripped in the fire needling stripping group. Simple fire needling therapy was adopted in the fire needling group, without local anesthesia and stripping. Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy was adopted in the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group. The treatment was given once a week, and totally 3 weeks were required in the 3 groups. The skin lesion scores of number, area, thickness, color, pruritus, isomorphism and the level of T lymphocyte (CD+3、CD+4、CD+8、CD+4/ CD+8) in peripheral blood were observed before and after treatment, and the adverse reaction was recorded in the 3 groups. Five weeks after treatment, the therapeutic effect was evaluated. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the skin lesion scores were decreased (P<0.05), the levels of T lymphocyte in peripheral blood were increased in the 3 groups (P<0.05). After treatment, all the items of the skin lesion score in the fire needling stripping group were lower than those in the fire needling group and the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group (P<0.05), the levels of T lymphocyte in peripheral blood were higher than those in the fire needling group and the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group (P<0.05); all the items of the skin lesion score in the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group were lower than those in the fire needling group (P<0.05). At the follow-up, the total effective rate was 88.6% (264/298) in the fire needling stripping group, which was superior to 81.4% (241/296) in the fire needling group and 81.4% (240/295) in the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group (P<0.05). The cases of infection, causalgia and cicatrix in the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group were more than those in the fire needling stripping group and the fire needling group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Fire needling stripping after local anesthesia can effectively treat the verruca vulgaris, improve the skin lesion and immunity, its therapeutic effect is superior to simple fire needling and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy.

Fire needling stripping after local anesthesia for verruca vulgaris: a multi-center randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the clinical therapeutic effect of fire needling stripping after local anesthesia, simple fire needling and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy on verruca vulgaris.@*METHODS@#A total of 900 patients with verruca vulgaris were randomized into a fire needling stripping group (300 cases, 2 cases dropped off), a fire needling group (300 cases, 4 cases dropped off) and a liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group (300 cases, 5 cases dropped off). After local anesthesia of compound lidocaine cream, fire needling therapy was adopted, and the necrotic tissue of verruca was stripped in the fire needling stripping group. Simple fire needling therapy was adopted in the fire needling group, without local anesthesia and stripping. Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy was adopted in the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group. The treatment was given once a week, and totally 3 weeks were required in the 3 groups. The skin lesion scores of number, area, thickness, color, pruritus, isomorphism and the level of T lymphocyte (CD@*RESULTS@#Compared before treatment, the skin lesion scores were decreased (@*CONCLUSION@#Fire needling stripping after local anesthesia can effectively treat the verruca vulgaris, improve the skin lesion and immunity, its therapeutic effect is superior to simple fire needling and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy.

Recent patents in anti-wart treatment.

Warts, small skin protuberances caused by human papillomavirus, are not life-threatening, but can be unsightly, embarrassing, uncomfortable and potentially contagious. They may regress naturally but over a prolonged time. Hence wart-afflicted people seek prescribed or over-the-counter therapies. Out of the innumerable marketable anti-wart medications, only a few are effective. Besides, frequent applications over months and certain undesirable side effects limit their success rates. Recurrences are also known. Hence the search for an effective, safe, cheap and quick medicine that is easy to apply continues. A number of patents for anti-wart therapies have been filed in the last few years. In this article, we enlist the recent anti-wart patents and find out those holding promise in the future.

Milky Sap of Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) and Anti-Viral Properties.

The milky juice of the greater celandine herb has been used in folk medicine and in homeopathy for treatment of viral warts for years. However, classical medicine fails to use properties of celandine herbs in treatment of diseases induced by papilloma viruses. Nevertheless, dermatological outpatient clinics are regularly visited by patients reporting efficacy of milky sap isolated from celandine herb in treatment of their own viral warts. Authors of this report decided to analyze the respective world literature in order to critically evaluate the potential for treatment of viral dermal warts using the milky sap of celandine. Moreover, the case of a 4-year old boy was presented, the parents of whom applied the milky sap of celandine on viral warts on hands. Thus, Ch. majus may be a potential therapeutic modality for skin warts, especially in a young patients, where conventional therapy may be difficult to apply.

TREATMENT OF VERRUCA VULGARIS IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE.

Common warts (verrucae vulgares) are the most common complaint in routine dermatological practice. Warts can be painful on pressure and are often an aesthetic problem, but they are not a major threat to the person's general health. Treatment options are symptomatic and do not eradicate the causative agent. Dermatological surgery procedures such as cryotherapy, electrocauterization and excochleation can be painful, with common recurrences. These are the most important reasons for revival of the treatment procedures and remedies based on traditional medicine. Traditional medicine is still commonly practiced as a form of self-healing. This paper presents the most commonly used wart remedies of plant, animal and mineral origin, along with various magic practices. We emphasize that this paper is written from the viewpoint of physicians, practitioners of dermatology, not as a study in the history or culture. The main objective of the study was to explore various substances and methods people use as home remedies for warts. We performed a case study survey among the general population by interviewing 147 adult participants using a simple preliminary questionnaire inquiring about preferred treatment and knowledge about common warts.

Successful treatment of plantar warts using topical Zijinding, a traditional Chinese medicine preparation: A case series.

INTRODUCTION: Plantar warts are associated with high transmissibility and morbidity. Among the available therapeutic options, none is uniformly effective or virucidal. Salicylic acid is the first-line therapy but approximately one-third of lesions could not resolve and become recalcitrant despite repeated treatment. Cryotherapy is widely accessible with low cost but may be complicated by pain, blister formation, hemorrhage, infection, excessive granulation tissue formation, and hyper-/hypo-pigmentation. Hence, alternative treatment modalities are essential. METHODS: Three patients with debilitating plantar warts refractory or intolerant to cryotherapy were treated with a course of Zijinding (a traditional Chinese medicine preparation) paste prepared with white vinegar. RESULTS: All three patients showed excellent clinical response with Zijinding application with evolution of lesions to scabs and subsequently healthy skin within 1.5 to 5 months of treatment. Treatment was well tolerated and had no significant side effects with excellent compliance recorded for all three patients. There was no relapse for at least 10 months after stopping the treatment. CONCLUSION: Topical Zijinding could be a promising alternative modality for the treatment of plantar warts. Further clinical trials on the comparison of Zijinding and other treatment modalities of plantar warts are warranted. Further studies are required to investigate the mechanism of action of Zijinding and to isolate the active ingredient.