CO2 Laser Therapy versus Cryotherapy in Treatment of Genital Warts: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Skin and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Hazrat Rassoul Akram Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran ,Iran

2 Student of Medicine, Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center And Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan And School of Medicine,Tehran University of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background: External genital warts are among the common causes of sexually transmitted diseases. Human papillomavirus is known as the main etiology of genital warts and the role of specific types of this virus in pathogenesis of cervical cancer has been recognized for decades. However, there are still many controversies regarding the best treatment of this infectious disease.Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 160 patients with genital warts were enrolled into the study. Eighty patients were treated with CO2 laser and 80 patients were treated with cryotherapy. They were evaluated for clearance rate, complications and recurrence rate during a 3-month follow-up period.Findings: Seventy six lesions (95%) in CO2 laser therapy group and 37 lesions (46.2%) in cryotherapy group were completely cleared. The clearance rate was significantly different between groups (P < 0.001). 12% and 12.2% of the lesions in cryotherapy group required second and third applications to completely clear, respectively. However, in CO2 laser group, lesions just required one session of therapy to clear. The CO2 laser therapy was associated with less recurrence rate compared to the cryotherapy (0.05% vs. 0.18%). Conclusion: The overall efficacy of CO2 laser in the treatment of external genital warts was approximately two-folds greater than that of cryotherapy. In addition, CO2 laser therapy was associated with lower recurrence rate than cryotherapy.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 29, Issue 173 - Serial Number 173
November and December 2012
Pages 3016-3022

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History

  • Receive Date: 12 March 2012
  • Revise Date: 29 April 2024
  • Accept Date: 06 April 2022

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