An audit of wart treatment in a Scottish dermatology department

We measured a dermatology department's workload from wart treatment in terms of time and numbers, and we studied the use made of routine treatments according to the site of the warts and the age of the patient. Twenty-one per cent of new referrals were for warts and 19% of clinic time was used for wart treatment, 9% of clinic time was for plantar warts alone and 29.5% of new patients failed to attend. Overall cryotherapy was the commonest treatment, particularly for warts on the hands and face, 73.2% of patients treated for hand warts defaulted from follow-up and 11.3% were referred back for further treatment. The implications of the results are discussed and we argue that hospital budget holders should fund community-based wart treatment facilities.