The evidentiary basis for treating patients with warts should not be solely confined to the findings of the systematic review of the efficacy of local treatments for cutaneous warts. Evidentiary basis should also include the documented responses from patients themselves regarding how they feel about their warts and the treatment of their warts.
Ciconte and colleagues1 attempted to document the morbidity related to warts, both from the effect of having the warts alone and the effect of treatment of patients who had sought it in the past. Their study also documented spontaneous regression of current warts 9 months after the patients' initial interview. A quality-of-life questionnaire was administered to 85 patients relating to the patients' current warts, their past history of warts, outcome of treatments, and any problems associated with warts.