New wart treatment

Pediatrics for Parents, April, 2002

There's a saying in medicine that goes "When there are many treatments for a specific condition, none of the treatments are that great or everyone would use the one that is." The treatments for common warts is an example of this situation.

Most common in children 12-16 years old, warts affect 10% of all children. They are caused by the human papillomavirus. Most warts go away on their own in 1-2 years and don't require any treatment. However, parents, the affected children, or both frequently find warts unsightly and want to have them removed.

There are numerous medical treatments for warts: shaving, applying salicylic acid preparations (both over-the-counter and prescription versions), cryotherapy (freezing them off), burning them off, cutting them out, and injections of antigens. There is a new treatment--imiquimod cream (brand name Aldara). It was recently used on 19 German patients, 9-18 years old. Applied twice a day, the cream lead to a total clearing of the warts in 16 of the 18 patients. The other two couldn't be found for follow up. However, before disappearing, they were showing improvement.

Due to cost it's doubtful imiquimod cream will become the first medicine used to treat warts in children. However, because it's so effective it will find a place in the treament of warts.

Pediatric Dermatology, 5-6/02.