Poorer Treatment Response in Confluent and Reticulated Papillomatosis Patients With Obesity: A Retrospective Study

An association between confluent and reticulated papillomatosis (CARP) and obesity has been reported; however, the relationship between CARP treatment response and obesity remains unknown. A retrospective chart review was performed of 92 pediatric patients diagnosed and treated for CARP during a 7-year period at a single institution. Twenty-three non-obese patients responded to therapy at a higher rate compared to 69 obese patients (100% vs. 77.5%; p = 0.009) regardless of treatment duration, treatment type, age, or sex, based on multivariable analysis. Our results demonstrate an association between obesity and poorer treatment response necessitating prospective research to better investigate the relationship between CARP severity, weight class, and optimization of medical therapy.