Treatment of Verruca Vulgaris With Topical Cidofovir

Topical cidofovir for viral warts in children

“…Conventional therapies are not without side‐effects and inconveniences and treatments are often disappointing for all concerned. Cidofovir is a powerful nucleoside analogue of deoxycitidine monophosphate with antiviral activity against a broad range of DNA viruses 2 . Although its approved indication is for intravenous treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS, it has recently been used to treat skin infections caused by papillomavirus 1–9 .…”

“…Cidofovir is a powerful nucleoside analogue of deoxycitidine monophosphate with antiviral activity against a broad range of DNA viruses 2 . Although its approved indication is for intravenous treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS, it has recently been used to treat skin infections caused by papillomavirus 1–9 . It has been used topically, 1–4,6–9 intralesionally and intravenously 5 although few cases have been reported in children 1–7 …”

“…Only 15 cases of viral warts treated with cidofovir in children have been reported, 1,2,4–7 14 of them topically 1,2,4,6,7 and one intravenously 5 (Table 2). The largest study so far was published by Field et al.…”

“…The most frequently reported adverse effect related to topical cidofovir is local irritation 1,2 . A single case of nephrotoxicity has also been published, in a 28‐year‐old man with a history of bone marrow transplantation, after the topical application of cidofovir 4% cream.…”

1% topical cidofovir used as last alternative to treat viral infections

“…There are no clear guidelines to treat verruca vulgaris or condyloma, caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) and pox virus infections responsible for mollusca contagiosa 1,2 . Literature data show the interest of topical cidofovir for treatment of skin diseases caused by DNA viruses 3–9 …”