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ToolsKeogh-Brown, M. R., Fordham, R. J., Thomas, K. S., Bachmann, M. O., Holland, R. C., Avery, A. J., Armstrong, S. J., Chalmers, J. R., Howe, A. C., Rodgers, S., Williams, H. C. and Harvey, I. M. (2007) To freeze or not to freeze: a cost-effectiveness analysis of wart treatment. British Journal of Dermatology, 156 (4). 687–692. ISSN 1365-2133
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Background: Several general practitioner (GP)-prescribed and over-the-counter therapies for warts and verrucae are available. However, the cost-effectiveness of these treatments is unknown. Objectives: To compare the cost-effectiveness of different treatments for cutaneous warts. Methods: We designed a decision-analytic Markov simulation model based on systematic review evidence to estimate the cost-effectiveness of various treatments. The outcome measures studied are percentage of patients cured, cost of treatment and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for each treatment, compared with no treatment, after 18 weeks. Results: Duct tape was most cost-effective but published evidence of its effectiveness is sparse. Salicylic acid was the most cost-effective over-the-counter treatment commonly used. Cryotherapy administered by a GP was less cost-effective than GP-prescribed salicylic acid and less cost-effective than cryotherapy administered by a nurse. Conclusions: Duct tape could be adopted as the primary treatment for cutaneous warts if its effectiveness is verified by further rigorous trials. Nurse-administered cryotherapy is likely to be more cost-effective than GP-administered cryotherapy.
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