Comparing Pulsed-dye Laser with Cryotherapy in the Treatment of Common Warts

Abstract INTRODUCTION: No modality has been identified as the treatment of chice for treating common warts. Cryothearpy and pulsed-dye laser (PDL) are among common modalities for treating these lesions. The aim of this study was to compare pulsed dye laser with cryotherapy in terms of efficacy and complications.METHODS: Of a total of ۴۶ patients enrolled in this study, ۷ patients withdrew the study, ۲۰ patients underwent cryotherapy and ۱۹ patients underwent PDL. Patients underwent a maximum of ۴ therapeutic sessions at ۳-week intervals in both groups. They were assessed for the remission rate (complete and partial),side effects and recurrence rate in each session and ۱ month after termination of the treatments.RESULTS: At the end of the study complete remission was achieved in ۳۷.۸% of patients in cryotherapy group and in ۵۲.۳% of patients in PDL group. This difference wasn’t statistically significant (P=۰.۲۲۹), though after first and second sessions of treatment complete and excellent partial remission occurred more in PDL group with significant difference (P=۰.۰۰۷ and P=۰.۰۲۱). Pain and bulla formation occurred statistically higher in cryotherapy group (P=۰.۰۰۲ and P=۰.۰۰۱). Other complications were rare in both groups.CONCLUSION: In terms of efficacy, we couldn’t demonstrate the superiority of pulseddye laser therapy to cryotherapy in treating common warts. Both methods were safe for long-term complications but PDL was much safer for short-term complications. Keywords: wart pulsed-dye laser cryotherapy efficacy side effects