Clinical Efficacy of Potassium Hydroxide 10% for the Treatment of Common Warts

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Dermatology and Andrology, Faculty of Medicine [Assiut], Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt.

2 Department of Pharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt

Abstract

Background and Aim: Common wart is considered one of the common diseases that are caused by the human papillomavirus; despite the high tendency for spontaneous recovery, it needs treatment. Topical application of keratolytic agent on virus-infected cells is one of the standards in the treatment, potassium hydroxide [KOH] is a strong, less irritating keratolytic agent, less painful, and can be safely used in all age groups. This study is aimed to evaluate topical 10% KOH in the treatment of common warts as regards safety and efficacy.  
Patients and methods: This open therapeutic trial study was performed on 70 patients with a total of 168 common warts, who were treated with topical 10% KOH solution once at night for twelve weeks. The patients were evaluated at the end of the study to record the percentage of improvement and adverse effects and follow up for 3 months to detect any recurrence for those patients who showed complete cure.
Results: At the end of the study about 70 % of patients showed complete recovery of their warts. Moreover, we didn’t observe any serious adverse effects, however, Hyperpigmentation was presented in 31.4% of patients, with no significant difference as regard location of warts.
Conclusion: Topical KOH 10 % solutions are promising, effective, safe, and well-tolerated treatments for common warts.

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