Efficacy of duct tape vs placebo in the treatment of verruca vulgaris (warts) in primary school children.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the efficacy of duct tape compared with placebo in the treatment of verruca vulgaris.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A randomized placebo-controlled trial in 3 primary schools in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred three children aged 4 to 12 years with verruca vulgaris.

INTERVENTIONS

Duct tape applied to the wart or placebo, a corn pad (protection ring for clavi), applied around the wart for 1 night a week. Both treatments were applied for a period of 6 weeks. Patients were blinded to the hypothesis of the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT

Complete resolution of the treated wart.

RESULTS

After 6 weeks, the wart had disappeared in 16% of the children in the duct tape group compared with 6% in the placebo group (P = .12). The estimated effect of duct tape compared with placebo on diameter reduction of the treated wart was 1.0 mm (P = .02, 95% confidence interval, -1.7 to -0.1). After 6 weeks, in 7 children (21%) in the duct tape group, a surrounding wart had disappeared compared with 9 children (27%) in the placebo group (P = .79). Fifteen percent of the children in the duct tape group reported adverse effects such as erythema, eczema, and wounds compared with 0 in the placebo group (P = .14).

CONCLUSION

In a 6-week trial, duct tape had a modest but nonsignificant effect on wart resolution and diameter reduction when compared with placebo in a cohort of primary school children.