Comparison of therapeutic effects of intralesional injection of bleomycin and cryotherapy on common warts of hands and feet

Background and aim: Warts are the most common clinical presentation of human papilloma virus infection of human skin and mucosa. They are more common on hand, foot, face and genital area. They are benign skin colour lesions with different clinical forms. There is no specific treatment for them. In this trial the therapeutic effect of intralesional injection of bleomycin and cryotherapy on common warts of hands and feet was compared.Materials and Methods: Fifty-two subjects entered the study but 44 patients completed the trial. Warts were treated by intralesional injection of bleomycin 0.5 mg/ml or liquid nitrogen on symmetric aspects of both hands and feet. We used cryo-spray gun for application of liquid nitrogen. Treatment was repeated every 2 weeks for a maximum of three times. Treatment was done by a dermatologist and treatment response was evaluated by another dermatologist. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS software.Results: In this trial 23 female and 21 male patients were studied. Totally, 253 warts were treated by cryotherapy and 226 warts by intralesional bleomycin. Cure rate was 73.1% for cryotherapy and 87.6% for intralesional bleomycin (P<0.001).Conclusion: Cure rate for intralesional bleomycin was higher than cryotherapy. Intrelesional bleomycin therapy is an effective and safe treatment for common warts.