Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41686619›Full record

SynthesisMedicine2026

Comparative analysis of different treatment modalities for management of cutaneous warts: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Tahira Irshad, Sheraz Ali, Mahnoor Usman, Hurriyah Ramzan, Abdullah, Hiba Imran, Khadija Ishaq, Owais Ahmad, Humza Saeed, Sunaina Asghar and 6 more

Abstract readSystematic ReviewComparative StudyNetwork Meta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Tahira IrshadDepartment of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Sheraz AliDepartment of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Mahnoor UsmanDepartment of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Hurriyah RamzanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
AbdullahDepartment of Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Hiba ImranDepartment of Medicine, Karachi Metropolitan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Khadija IshaqDepartment of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Owais AhmadDepartment of Medicine, Riphah International University, Islamic International Medical College, Pakistan.
Humza SaeedDepartment of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sunaina AsgharDepartment of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Nishat IrshadDepartment of Medicine, Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan.
Shree RathDepartment of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Zobia FarooqDepartment of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Abdullah ImtiazDepartment of Medicine, Wah Medical College, Wah Cantt, Pakistan.
Ihsan QamarDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Spinghar University, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Waseem SajjadDepartment of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCutaneous warts are exophytic, benign proliferative lesions caused by human papillomavirus infection of basal keratinocytes. Many intralesional immunomodulatory agents are used by dermatologists these days including Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine, measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, purified protein derivative (PPD), Candida extract, vitamin D3, interferon alpha, zinc sulphate, and hepatitis B vaccine. Intralesional acyclovir is considered a novel intralesional therapy for warts as it directly destroys the viral cells. The objectives of this study are to provide the latest comparison among different intralesional therapies and to specifically compare acyclovir with PPD.

methodsA comprehensive search strategy was implemented to identify relevant randomized controlled trials, and those with single-arm studies were excluded. After this, 5 studies were finally included in the review. Statistical analysis was done using a frequentist random-effects model. Dichotomous outcomes were analyzed using odds ratio and 95% confidence interval with statistical significance set as P-value < .05. All analyses were performed using R version 4.4.1.The study involved a total of 295 patients with sample size ranging from 30 being the least number of participants and 97 being the highest number of participants in a single study.

resultsUse of saline had the highest probability of being the best treatment for achieving a complete response (probability to be the best 96%, P-score = .96) and partial response (98% probability, P-score = .98) when compared with other modalities. The forest plot shows no statistically significant differences among the treatment arms except for saline (P < .01) for no response as compared with PPD. Blister formation was found to be higher on the use of cryotherapy (P = .03) and Mycobacterium w vaccine (P = .02).

conclusionThis network's meta-analysis concludes the superiority of intralesional saline in achieving response to treatment when compared with other modalities such as cryotherapy and vaccines. A higher risk of adverse events was noted on use of vaccines. Future research is needed to strengthen these findings.

Indexed as

AcyclovirAntiviral AgentsWartsHumansInjections, IntralesionalRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeTuberculinAcyclovirAntiviral AgentsTuberculinacyclovircutaneous wartsHPVintralesionalsaline

Identifiers

PMID41686619
PMCPMC12908760

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.