Saturated saline immersion for the treatment of refractory plantar warts: An open-label, one-arm, single-center trial.

BACKGROUND

Treating plantar warts (PWs) presents a significant challenge due to frequent treatment failures and recurrences. Current therapeutic approaches, such as salicylic acid, cryotherapy, and laser treatment, are destructive. There is a lack of painless and noninvasive treatment options for PWs.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of daily saturated saline immersion PWs over 6 months.

METHODS

This single-arm clinical trial enrolled 17 participants with PWs and failed standard treatments, who underwent daily 30-minute saturated saline immersion for 8 weeks. Effectiveness and safety were assessed.

RESULTS

After saturated saline immersion treatment, 98.3% of lesions (232/236) cleared, and 88.2% of participants (15/17) achieved complete remission (95% CI 63.3% to 97.4%) at week 8 compared to baseline. No recurrences occurred during the 6-month follow-up.

LIMITATIONS: Single-arm design lacking active comparators, limited long-term follow-up for durability assessment.

CONCLUSION

Daily saturated-salt-water immersion achieved high lesion- and patient-level clearance rates with painless and no short-term recurrence. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm these findings.