Smoke from leaves of Populus euphratica Olivier vs. conventional cryotherapy for the treatment of cutaneous warts: a pilot, randomized, single-blind, prospective study

Background Populous Euphratica tree which belongs to Salicaceae family is naturally distributed in many parts of the world. Our purpose was to compare the therapeutic effects of smoke of its burnt leaves with conventional cryotherapy in patients with warts.

Methods Sixty consecutive wart patients were randomly treated with leaves of Populous Euphratica tree (Group A) or conventional cryotherapy (Group B) and were followed up for 22 weeks.

Results The respective end results in group A and group B were; Complete cure rates 66.7% vs. 46.4% (P= NS), partial resolution rates 8.3% vs. 14.3% (P= NS). The recurrence rate however, was 4.2% in group A and 32.2% in group B patients (P= 0.024).

Conclusion The smoke of burnt leaves of Populus Euphratica tree can be equally effective for treatment of hand and foot warts as cryotherapy.