Wirksamkeit und Nutzen eines 5‐FU‐/Salicylsäure‐haltigen Präparates in der Therapie vulgärer und plantarer Warzen – systematische Literaturübersicht und Metaanalyse

Background: 1) Salicylic acid (SA) and 5‐Fluorouracil (5‐FU) are effective drugs in wart therapy. 2) In Germany, increasing data on the benefit and the economic efficiency of drugs at Level I of evidence‐based medicine are needed. Methods: Evaluation of the effectiveness and benefits of a drug combination containing 0.5 % 5‐FU and 10 % SA in the therapy of a) common and b) plantar warts in form of a two‐step procedure – 1. Systematic literature analysis, 2. Meta‐analysis of the randomised‐controlled studies (RCTs). Results: 1. The efficacy of 5‐FU/SA therapy was tested in a total of 625 patients (n = 8 RCTs) with common warts and 101 patients (n = 4 RCTs) with plantar warts. The therapeutic effect across all studies in common warts was 63.4 % response (complete healing) for 5‐FU/SA vs. 23.1 % for the 5‐FU‐free controls, respectively. In plantar warts, the response was 63.0 % vs. 11.0 %. 2. A meta‐analysis of n = 7 RCTs on common warts (n = 325 patients) showed a mean risk difference of 0.42 (CI 0.34 – 0.50, p < 0.05), thus a significant superiority of 5‐FU/SA over SA. A comparable result was also found for plantar warts. Conclusion: The combination of 5‐FU and SA is an effective and beneficial therapy for common and plantar warts.