Guidelines for the Management of Cutaneous Warts

Guidelines point to the need for new, reliable wart treatments and help to provide an evidence-based rationale for currently available treatments.

Sponsoring Organization: British Association of Dermatologists

Target Population: Primary care providers, dermatologists, pediatricians

Background and Objective

Warts, or verrucae, are a common skin condition caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. More than 150 genotypes have been identified. HPV types 1, 2, 4, 27, and 57 are the most frequent strains in common warts, and HPV 3 and 10 cause plane warts (verruca plana). Compilers of these guidelines reviewed research on the management of warts published between January 1999 and March 2014 in the English-language literature.

Key Points

Meta-analysis shows preparations containing salicylic acid as the active ingredient — the most common destructive wart therapy — to be more effective than…

Reviewing Author

Craig A. Elmets, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board Astellas Pharmaceuticals

EquityVaxin

Grant / Research support NIH; NIH/NCI; Veteran’s Administration; Ferndale Laboratories; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Inc.

Editorial boards Cancer Prevention Research; Photodermatology, Photoimmunology, & Photomedicine; UpToDate; eMedicine; Journal of Dermatological Sciences; JAMA Dermatology

Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Vice Chair, Committee on Science and Research); Photomedicine Society (Board of Directors)