Anogenital warts in children: Analysis of a cohort of 34 prepubertal children

Abstract

Anogenital warts are caused by infection with the human papillomavirus. We reviewed the clinical data of 34 children younger than 13 with anogenital warts referred to the department of dermatovenereology of a tertiary care hospital. Suspicion of sexual abuse was raised in 11 (32.4%). Human papilloma virus testing and genotyping was performed in 19 (55.9%) children, and human papilloma virus type 16 was found in 4, which raises the question regarding what type of follow-up is required for children infected with high-risk oncogenic HPV types. Although the diagnosis of anogenital warts in children raises concerns regarding sexual abuse, our study supports that pediatric anogenital warts can be associated with nonsexual transmission.

Human Papillomavirus‐type distribution in anogenital lesions of prepubertal children

“…The results of studies on AGW in children are partly contradictory. Possibly, this can be explained by differences in study populations, selection bias, different age ranges, limited information on confirmed sexual abuse, low numbers of cases examined, different types of samples (biopsies, swabs) and differences in sensitivity and covered type spectrum of the HPV‐typing assays used 16,17,23–27 . The present study is one of the few studies with a larger number of children (55 children) in a multicentre setting.…”

Vulvar wart in a child

“…Girls are more frequently affected than boys, at a ratio of 3:1.7 [3]. However, little is known about the epidemiology of the virus in the pediatric population In a cohort of 34 prepubertal children, the perianal localization interested 67,6% of cases and was the most frequent site [2]. Typing the HPV virus is useful when making a diagnosis and assessing children with genital warts.…”

“…Several HPV types can cause anogenital warts. Their occurrence in childhood should require some consideration and careful examination to mean their transmission [2]. Herein we report a new case of vulvar wart in an 8-year-old child.…”

Successful topical treatment of anal giant condylomata acuminata in an infant

“…In infants, infection may result from mother to infant transmission, through an infected birth canal, autoinoculated after birth from a nongenital area to genitalia, or by sexual abuse. 1 Giant CA, also known as Buschke-Lowenstein tumor, is a rare dis- Management of giant condylomata in infants is still a challenge. In recent guidelines, recommendations and randomized control trial for children are lacking.…”

“…In infants, infection may result from mother to infant transmission, through an infected birth canal, autoinoculated after birth from a nongenital area to genitalia, or by sexual abuse 1 …”