Treatment of viral warts with cimetidine: an open-label study.

Author(s): Gooptu C, Higgins CR, James MP

Affiliation(s): Department of Dermatology, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, UK.

Publication date & source: 2000-05, Clin Exp Dermatol., 25(3):183-5.

Publication type: Clinical Trial

The immunomodulatory actions of cimetidine, an H2-receptor antagonist, and its use in the treatment of viral warts has been described previously but its effectiveness is still debated. We report the results in 47 patients with multiple, nongenital viral warts who were treated with oral cimetidine in a 3-month open-label study. The drug was generally well tolerated and 87% of children and 68% of adults improved with treatment. Follow-up data in 65% of the patients showed that there had been no recurrence in the majority of those whose warts had cleared completely during treatment, whereas warts tended to persist or recur in those who had stopped treatment before all the warts had resolved. Our data suggests that cimetidine may be helpful in the treatment of viral warts in both adults and children and supports the need for a randomized controlled trial.