Safety and Efficacy of Intralesional Vitamin D3 in Cutaneous Warts: An Open Uncontrolled Trial

BACKGROUND Cutaneous warts are treated primarily with destructive methods such as cryotherapy or electrocautery. These modalities of treatment are time-consuming and may be associated with scarring in multiple warts. Immunotherapy is emerging as a new modality of treatment which acts on enhancing cell-mediated immunity against human papillomavirus for clearance of both treated and distant warts. AIMS This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intralesional Vitamin D3 for the treatment of cutaneous warts. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients with multiple warts were selected for immunotherapy. Vitamin D3 (0.2 ml, 15 mg/ml) was injected to the base of warts after injecting with lignocaine (0.2 ml, 20 mg/ml). The injections were repeated 2 weeks apart for a maximum of 4 sessions or until complete clearance, whichever was earlier. A maximum of 2 warts were treated per session and patients were followed up for 6 months after the last injection. RESULTS Forty-two patients with multiple warts were recruited for the study who completed the 6-month follow-up period and were available for analysis. Of these, 23 had palmoplantar warts, 18 had verruca vulgaris and 1 patient had filiform wart. In total, 33 of 42 patients (78.57%) showed complete response, 6 patients (14.28%) showed moderate response and three patients (7.14%) showed mild response. Recurrence was observed in one patient with the palmoplantar wart. No serious adverse effects were reported. LIMITATIONS Lack of control group was the main drawback in our study. CONCLUSION Intralesional Vitamin D3 is safe and effective for treatment of multiple cutaneous warts.