Clinical Trial Evaluating Efficacy of Duct Tape for Treatment of Warts

ABSTRACT (233 word count) Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of duct tape occlusion therapy for the treatment of common warts. Design: A double-blinded, controlled, clinical intervention trial. Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Participants: A total of 90 immunocompetent adult volunteers with at least one wart measuring between 2-15 mm were enrolled in this study between October 2004 and July 2005; 80 patients completed the study. Intervention: Patients were randomized using a computer-generated code to receive either pads consisting of moleskin with transparent duct tape (active) or moleskin alone (control). Patients were instructed to wear the pads for 7 consecutive days and leave the pad off on the 7th evening. This process was repeated for 2 months or until the wart resolved, whichever occurred first. Follow-up visits occurred at 1 and 2 months. Main Outcome Measure: 100% resolution of the wart. Secondary outcomes included change in size of the target wart and recurrence rates at 6 months for warts with complete resolution. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the proportions of patients with resolution of the target wart (duct tape=8/39, 21% vs. control=9/41, 22%). Of patients with complete resolution, 75% (6/8) in the duct tape group and 33% (3/9) of those in the control group had recurrence of the target wart by the sixth month. Conclusions: Occlusive therapy with transparent duct tape is not significantly better than moleskin alone for treatment of common warts in adults.