COMPARISON OF THERAPEUTIC OUTCOMES OF CRYOTHERAPY AND INTRALESIONAL MMR IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE VIRAL WARTS

Abstract

Background: Multiple viral warts are common benign cutaneous lesions caused by human papillomavirus and may bepersistent, recurrent, and cosmetically distressing. Although cryotherapy is widely used, intralesional immunotherapy withMMR vaccine has emerged as a promising alternative, particularly for patients with multiple lesions. The Aim/Objective isto compare the therapeutic efficacy, recurrence, and treatment-related adverse effects of cryotherapy and intralesional MMRvaccine in the management of multiple viral warts. Materials and Methods: A prospective comparative interventional studywas conducted in the Department of Dermatology at East Point College of Medical Sciences and Research Institute over oneyear. Sixty patients with clinically diagnosed multiple viral warts were enrolled and divided equally into two groups of 30patients each. One group received cryotherapy, while the other received intralesional MMR vaccine. Treatment response,percentage reduction in lesion number, recurrence, and adverse effects were assessed during follow-up. Results: Completeclearance was achieved in 18 (60.0%) patients in the cryotherapy group and 24 (80.0%) patients in the MMR group(p=0.240). The mean reduction in lesion number was significantly greater with MMR (84.7 ± 15.2%) than with cryotherapy(72.4 ± 18.6%; p=0.008). Recurrence occurred in 33.3% of complete responders after cryotherapy compared with 8.3% afterMMR (p=0.056). Pain and blister formation were significantly more frequent with cryotherapy, whereas transienterythema/swelling was more common with MMR. Conclusion: Both cryotherapy and intralesional MMR vaccine wereeffective in the treatment of multiple viral warts. Intralesional MMR demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in lesionnumber and a more favourable adverse-effect profile, although the difference in complete clearance was not statisticallysignificant. These findings suggest that intralesional MMR may be a useful alternative to cryotherapy for the management ofmultiple viral warts.