Treatment of recalcitrant warts with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin: a promising new approach

Abstract

Recalcitrant warts represent a therapeutic challenge for both patients and physicians. Recently, intralesional immunotherapy by different antigens has been proved effective in the treatment of different types of warts. We describe a case of a 48-year-old male who presented with troublesome huge common wart on the left little toe of 5 years duration and not responding to many lines of therapy. Nearby and distant common and plantar warts have also been observed. Intralesional Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine was injected into the huge wart of the little toe at 2-week intervals for five sessions. Follow-up was made every month for 6 months. A gradual decrease in the size of the injected wart was observed until reaching complete clearance by the end of the fifth session. Untreated nearby common and distant warts disappeared completely by the end of the third session. BCG injection was associated with erythema and edema with or without pustules, at the site of injection. A flu-like illness that rapidly subsided within 3 days was also observed with each injection. No recurrence was observed after the 6-month follow-up period. Intralesional immunotherapy with BCG vaccine seems to be a promising effective and safe treatment modality for recalcitrant warts.