Verruca vulgaris: pulsed dye laser therapy compared with salicylic acid + pulsed dye laser therapy

Abstract

In recent years, lasers have been used in verruca therapy and some successful results have been obtained in some types of verruca. In some of these laser studies, peeling processes have been used to increase penetration. This study aimed to compare the effects of pulsed dye laser (PDL) therapy with the effects of PDL therapy following salicylic acid (SA) application. The purpose of the SA application is to increase the laser penetration by decreasing the hyperkeratosis of verruca vulgaris. This controlled study included 66 lesions from 19 patients enrolled in the study. PDL was applied to 33 lesions following 30% SA application twice a day for 5 days, and the remaining 33 lesions underwent PDL therapy. PDL was administered in both groups at 4-week intervals varying from one to five sessions. In the comparison of these two groups, the changes in verruca dimensions were recorded in width x length x height (mm3), and the results of the therapy were evaluated statistically. In both PDL and SA + PDL groups, the regressions observed in the size of the lesions were statistically significant at the end of the fifth session compared with those observed at the onset of the therapy (P < 0.05). At the end of the fifth session, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.451); however, the clearance rate in the SA + PDL group was more statistically significant than that in the PDL group after the second session (P = 0.049). The complete clearance rate in the SA + PDL group was 54.6% after the second session, but 66.4% in the PDL group only after the fifth session. Complete clearance in the SA + PDL group was observed after 2.2 sessions, and in the PDL group after 3.1 sessions (P < 0.05). Although there was no difference between the clearance rate of the SA + PDL group and that of the PDL group after the fifth session, adding SA to PDL decreased the number of sessions to a large extent.