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Efficacy of Duct Tape vs Placebo in the Treatment of Verruca Vulgaris (Warts) in Primary School Children
Marloes de Haen, MD;
Marcus G. Spigt, PhD;
Caro J. T. van Uden, PhD;
Pierre van Neer, MD;
Frans J. M. Feron, MD;
André Knottnerus, PhD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:1121-1125.
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.
Author Affiliations: Departments of General Practice (Drs de Haen, Spigt, and Knottnerus) and Dermatology (Dr van Neer), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Integrated Care, University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht (Dr van Uden); and Youth Health Care Division, Regional Public Health Institute, Maastricht (Dr Feron).
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