Topical treatment of resistant warts with glutaraldehyde

Therapy with glutaraldehyde (GA) was used to treat twenty-five patients with selectively resistant warts. The patients were categorized as having one or more of the following conditions: 1) the location of the warts was either periungual, palmar or plantar, 2) the age of the patient was five years or younger, 3) the number of warts was two or more.

Eighteen (72%) out of twenty-five cases were cured, and the other seven (28%) were not. The individual cure rates of the three conditions above were 80%, 60%, and 68.5% respectively. Pigmentary changes occurred immediately after the initial topical application of glutaraldehyde, and the surface of the verruca hardened. Soon afterwards some debris began to drop off of the verruca tissue little by little, and final healing was completed by less than twelve weeks without disagreeable marks. This therapy was found to be extremely useful, not only because the cure rate was high, but the following advantages were also noted: 1) no pain or pruritus, 2) no evidence of scarring or permanent pigmentary change, 3) good penetration in any location, 4) no need for special instruments or reagents except the solution, and 5) no special technique required (possible home treatment). This therapy is superior to cryotherapy (CT) in that it is useful for warts on any location, regardless of the number of lesions, and it is good for young children, although the cure rates for CT and GA are almost equal.