Efficacy and safety of imiquimod for verruca planae: A systematic review

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of imiquimod for treating verruca planae. Methods: We searched the Pubmed, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, EMbase, CBM, CNKI and Wanfang databases (Chinese) to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We screened the retrieved studies according to the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, evaluated the quality of include studies, and performed meta-analyses using the Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.1. Software. Results: Twenty-six RCTs involving 2169 patients with verruca planae were included and assessed. At the end of the 6th and ≥8th week, the effective rate of topical imiquimod was obviously higher than that of control [ RR=1.42, 95%CI (1.27, 1.60), P <0.00001; RR=1.43, 95%CI (1.22,1.67), P<0.00001]. The effective rate of imiquimod cream was higher than tretinoin cream, tazarotene gel and other antiviral drugs. [RR=1.41, 95%CI (1.25, 1.59), P <0.00001; RR=1.76, 95%CI (1.48, 2.10), P<0.00001; RR=1.71, 95%CI (1.29, 2.26), P =0.0002]. However, the effectiverate of imiquimod cream was lower than 5-ALA-PDT (RR=0.6, 95%CI (0.5, 0.71), P<0.00001). Conclusions: The limited evidence demonstrates that topical imiquimod is safe and efficient. More multiple central RCTs with large samples are required to verify these conclusions. Correspondence to: Rui-qun Qi, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, No 1 Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China, Tel: +86 24 8328 2742; Fax: +86 24 8328 2742; E-mail: [email protected] Xing-hua Gao, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, No 1 Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China, Tel: +86 24 8328 2326; Fax: +86 24 8328 2326; E-mail: [email protected]