Treatment of Common and Plane Warts in Children with Topical Viable Bacillus Calmette‐Guerin

Abstract

Treatment of verrucae in children is difficult and may be painful using traditional methods, especially if they are multiple or on the face. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical application of viable Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in a paste formula as a new immunotherapeutic modality in the treatment of common and plane warts in children. The present study included 80 children with common and plane warts at different sites on the body. They were divided into two groups. Group A (40 patients) received topical viable BCG and group B (40 patients) received topical saline as control. All patients and controls had received a previous vaccination of BCG. BCG was applied once weekly for six consecutive weeks. Patients who had partial or no response received another course of treatment for another 6 weeks. Follow-up was at 6 months to detect any recurrences. A highly significant difference was found between the therapeutic response of common and plane warts to BCG and saline (placebo) (p < 0.001). Complete response was achieved in 65% of children with common warts and 45% of patients with plane warts. No response was detected in the control group. No recurrences or side effects were observed in the BCG group. Topical immunotherapeutic BCG is a new, effective, safe treatment option for children with common and plane warts.