Hyperthermia therapy for warts utilizing a self-administered exothermic patch. Review of two cases.
BACKGROUND
Hyperthermia therapy was described previously to be effective for treating warts using a hot water technique as well as an ultrasound hyperthermia technique. Recently, two other papers described controlled localized heat therapy for cutaneous warts. A new heat-generated application system and method has been developed for treating warts using a self-administered, self-adhesive disposable exothermic patch.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to describe our clinical experience in using the exothermic patch to successfully treat patients with cutaneous recalcitrant warts who failed to respond to multiple antiwart therapy.


METHODS
Two patients with recalcitrant warts that did not respond to other therapeutic modalities were treated with the exothermic patch with complete remission of their warts. Exothermic patches were used in this study that were specially constructed to provide long-lasting, continuous, and reproducible heating of the skin surface for at least 2 hours at a temperature level of 42-43 degrees C, which will not burn or otherwise injure the skin.


CONCLUSIONS
Warts are difficult to treat in part because there are no specific anti-Papillomavirus drugs or methods available. We describe our clinical experience in successfully treating two patients with recalcitrant warts using the exothermic patch.
Dvoretzky
I
I
Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000145:classification; D014860:Warts / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology