A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF 30% FORMIC ACID WITH 85% FORMIC ACID IN THE TREATMENT OF PALMOPLANTAR WARTS.
Abstract
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Objective: Warts are a common skin disease seen by dermatologists. It is an infection caused by different strains of human papilloma virus. The
presence of various topical and systemic treatments for warts is a testament to the lack of a rapid, simple, uniformly effective, inexpensive, nonscarring,
and painless treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of 85% formic acid with 30% formic acid on
palmoplantar warts.
Methods: A non-randomized, open trial was performed in 30 patients with common warts attending Father Muller's Medical College Hospital,
Mangalore. 15 patients received 85% formic acid application, and 15 patients received 30% formic acid using a to puncture technique every
day.
Results: About 73.3% in Group I and 73.3% in Group II showed disappearance of warts at the end of 3 months. No major side-effects were seen at the
end of therapy in either group.
Conclusions: The results show that both 30% and 85% formic acid application are a safe, economical, and effective alternative in the treatment of
common warts with few side-effects and 30% formic acid may be an effective replacement of 85% formic acid. A study with more number of patients
is needed to see the efficacy of this treatment.
Keywords: Warts, Formic acid, Palmoplantar warts.
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