Treatment of warts with topical pyruvic acid: with and without added 5-fluorouracil.

Pyruvic acid (PA) is an alpha-hydroxy acid with potent keratolytic properties. Fifty-six patients with common warts treated with two PA formulations were surveyed 2 to 29 months after beginning treatment (mean, 18 months). Thirty-eight patients used a 70 percent PA formulation with added 0.5 percent 5-fluorouracil (PA-5FU). Eighteen patients used a plain 70 percent PA formulation without added 5FU. Three-quarters of the patients reported using the formulation for 4 weeks or less. Overall, 64 percent of the patients treated with either of the two formulations experienced complete clearing of their lesions. There was no increased efficacy noted with the PA-5FU formulation. Eighty-two percent of eighteen children, aged 16 years or younger, experienced clearing of lesions.