Viral warts in children seen at a tertiary referral centre.

INTRODUCTION This study aims to determine the epidemiology of viral warts in children seen at a tertiary referral centre and the treatments used. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a retrospective study of viral warts in children aged 12 years and below seen at the National Skin Centre in the year 2000. RESULTS There were 302 cases of viral warts, 187 (61.9%) in boys and 115 (38.1%) in girls. The greatest number was seen at age 12 and none were noted in those below 1 year of age. The racial breakdown was as follows: 69.9% Chinese, 13.9% Malays, 11.3% Indians and 4.9% of other ethnic groups. Treatment with liquid nitrogen was used most commonly in 267 (88.4%) cases, with a clearance rate of 48.3%. Electrocautery was used in 11 cases with complete clearance in 8 cases. CONCLUSION Viral warts are common in children, but uncommon in infants. There is no difference in distribution of warts among the races in Singapore. Liquid nitrogen and electrocautery are effective treatments of viral warts in children.