Psychosocial Burden of Verruca Vulgaris: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Although medically benign, common warts, or verruca vulgaris, may negatively affect emotional wellbeing and quality of life (QoL). The various treatment options, such as liquid nitrogen cryotherapy or Candida antigen injection, can be painful, and repeat trials for wart resolution can be burdensome. Because the psychosocial burden of verruca is likely underestimated, we surveyed adult patients diagnosed and treated with warts at a single academic institution in an urban setting to assess the reported effects on QoL and satisfaction with the different treatment modalities. In domains such as anxiety, social activities, and interpersonal relationships, patients rated impact of warts on a scale of 1-100, with a score of 1 representing “minimal impact” and 100 representing “severe impact.” These numerical ratings were then converted to the validated Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) parameters for consistency with other QoL studies. Our results indicate that patients are “A little” self-conscious or embarrassed by their warts and that their warts caused “A little” anxiety. Although patients reported more discomfort with Candida antigen than with cryotherapy, overall patient satisfaction for the two procedures was identical. Notably, 52% of respondents endorsed attempting home remedies before seeking clinical care, suggesting room for improvement in patient education for initiating dermatologic care. Future studies should examine patients with recalcitrant verruca and patient satisfaction with other management options. J Drugs Dermatol. 2022;21(6):614-617. doi:10.36849/JDD.6773.