The follow-up of anogenital warts in a specialized consultation: study of patients lost to follow-up

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of condylomata acuminata relies on prolonged management, partly related to the need for repeated applications with regard to destructive therapeutic measures and the clinical supervision because of the high prevalence of relapses. This implies that patients are ready to consult their doctor at regular intervals during a relatively prolonged period of time. We wanted to assess the patients lost to follow-up in a population of patients exhibiting anogenital warts together with the factors associated with the loss to follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective observational study conducted in France among dermatologists and gynecologists between May and December 2000. The physicians were free to prescribe the treatment of their choice. The social data of the patients and the classical characteristics of the condylomata acuminata were assessed. A patient was considered as lost to follow-up when he/she no longer came in for the consultation assessing the treatment. The data of the patients lost to follow-up were compared to those of the other patients. RESULTS: Two hundred ninety-seven cases, with 57 p. 100 men, were included during the study period. The mean age of the patients was of 33.8 +/- 11.4 years, with 43 p. 100 of patients aged under 30. In 40 p. 100 of cases, the lesions had existed for more than 3 months and were symptomatic in 30 p. 100 of cases. At the end of the study, 28.3 p. 100 of patients were considered as lost to follow-up. With multivariate analysis, the loss to follow-up appeared related to the patients' age (more frequent, the younger the patient; p<0.04) and not to the fixing of a precise appointment at the end of treatment (p<0.001). The asymptomatic nature of the lesions, recognized as a loss to follow-up risk factor in univariate analysis, was at the limit of significance in multivariate analysis (p=0.06). DISCUSSION: Clinicians should be particularly attentive with young and asymptomatic patients that they treat for condylomata acuminata, and attempt to reduce the rate of lost to follow-up and improve the quality of their management.