What's new in human papillomavirus infection

Warts continue to be a therapeutic challenge, especially widespread warts on children. A single, most effective treatment has not been defined. Conventional methods attempt to nonspecifically destroy infected tissue. Most of these procedures are painful, poorly tolerated by children, and often require multiple treatments. The efficacy of destructive techniques is impossible to verify in controlled clinical trials. Uncontrolled success rates are suboptimal and often no better than that seen with placebos. Alternative pharmacologic approaches have been designed to stimulate immunologic responses or provide anti-viral activity. Further study is needed to establish efficacy of these treatments.