Efficacy of 80% phenol solution in comparison with cryotherapy in the treatment of common warts of hands

Banihashemi M, Pezeshkpoor F, Yazdanpanah MJ, Family S
Correspondence: Dr Mahnaz Banihashemi, dr_banihaashemi@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Introduction The common wart is a common infectious disease caused by human papilloma virus. A variety of therapeutic modalities are available. Cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen) is one of the most common treatment forms. It freezes the tissue and destroys warts. Phenol is a caustic agent. Our purpose was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of cryotherapy and 80 percent phenol solution on common warts of hands.
Methods This single-blinded clinical trial study was performed on 60 patients with common warts referred to the dermatology clinic of Ghaem Hospital Mashhad, Iran, in 2002. Patients were randomly divided into two groups; 30 patients were treated with cryotherapy and 30 patients were treated with 80 percent phenol, on a once-weekly basis until complete clearance of the lesions or a maximum duration of six weeks.
Results Complete clearance of warts after six weeks was observed in 70 percent of patients who were treated with cryotherapy, and 82.6 percent of patients in the 80 percent phenol group; there was no statistically significant difference between the two methods (p-value is 0.014).
Conclusion Our data indicates that 80 percent phenol and cryotherapy are effective and simple treatments for common warts of hands, and patients do not experience any pain during the treatment.

Keywords: cryotherapy, human papilloma virus, liquid nitrogen, phenol, warts
Singapore Med J 2008; 49(12): 1035-1037