Genital wart
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
| Genital Classification and external resources | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ICD-10 | A63.0 | |
| ICD-9 | 078.19 | |
| DiseasesDB | 29120 | |
| eMedicine | derm/454 med/1037 | |
| MeSH | C02.256.650.810.217 | |
|
WikiDoc Resources for Genital wart | |
|
Articles | |
|---|---|
|
Most recent articles on Genital wart Most cited articles on Genital wart | |
|
Media | |
|
Powerpoint slides on Genital wart | |
|
Evidence Based Medicine | |
|
Clinical Trials | |
|
Ongoing Trials on Genital wart at Clinical Trials.gov Clinical Trials on Genital wart at Google
| |
|
Guidelines / Policies / Govt | |
|
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Genital wart
| |
|
Books | |
|
News | |
|
Commentary | |
|
Definitions | |
|
Patient Resources / Community | |
|
Patient resources on Genital wart Discussion groups on Genital wart Patient Handouts on Genital wart Directions to Hospitals Treating Genital wart Risk calculators and risk factors for Genital wart
| |
|
Healthcare Provider Resources | |
|
Causes & Risk Factors for Genital wart | |
|
Continuing Medical Education (CME) | |
|
International | |
|
| |
|
Businness | |
|
Experimental / Informatics | |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
Overview
Genital warts (or Condyloma, Condylomata acuminata, or venereal warts or the pat carr jawn) is a highly contagious sexually transmitted infection caused by some sub-types of human papillomavirus (HPV). It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. Genital warts are the most easily recognized sign of genital HPV infection. They can be caused by strains 6, 11, 30, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52 and 54 of genital HPV; types 6 and 11 are responsible for 90% of genital warts cases.[1] Most people who acquire those strains never develop warts or any other symptoms. HPV also causes many cases of cervical cancer; types 16 and 18 account for 70% of cases; however, the strains of HPV that cause genital warts are not linked to the strains that cause cancer.
Genital warts often occur in clusters and can be very tiny or can spread into large masses in the genital or penis area. In women they occur on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the opening (cervix) to the womb (uterus), or around the anus. They are approximately as prevalent in men, but the symptoms may be less obvious. When present, they usually are seen on the tip of the penis. They also may be found on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus. Rarely, genital warts also can develop in the mouth or throat of a person who has had oral sex with an infected person.
The viral particles are able to penetrate the skin and mucosal surfaces through microscopic abrasions in the genital area, which occur during sexual activity. Once cells are invaded by HPV, a latency (quiet) period of months to years may occur. The latency period just means the HPV virus is in an incubation period. Having sex with a partner whose HPV infection is in the incubation period still leaves you vulnerable to becoming infected yourself. In other words, just because one can't see the genital warts, doesn't mean they are not there. HPV virus can last from 3 months to 2 years without a symptom. That causes the increase of HPV infectors and sometimes you cannot track down who was the source of the infection.
 genital warts around the anus |
 Genital warts on a female]] |
Genital warts on a male |
Treatment
Genital warts may disappear without treatment, but sometimes eventually develop a fleshy, small raised growth. There is no way to predict whether they will grow or disappear.
Depending on the size and location of the wart, and other factors, a doctor will offer one of several ways to treat them.
- Imiquimod (Aldara) a topical immune response cream, applied to the affected area
- A 20% podophyllin anti-mitotic solution, applied to the affected area and later washed off
- A 0.5% podofilox solution, applied to the affected area but not to be washed off
- A 5% 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) cream
- Trichloroacetic acid (TCA)
- Pulsed dye laser
- Liquid nitrogen cryosurgery
- Electric or laser cauterization
Podophyllin and podofilox should not be used during pregnancy, as they are absorbed by the skin and may cause birth defects in the fetus. 5-fluorouracil cream should not be used while trying to become pregnant or if there is a possibility of pregnancy.
Small warts can be removed by freezing (cryosurgery), burning (electrocautery), or laser treatment. Surgery is occasionally used to remove large warts that have not responded to other treatment.
Some doctors inject the antiviral drug interferon-alpha directly into the warts, to treat warts that have returned after removal by traditional means. The drug is expensive, and does not reduce the rate that the warts return.
Although treatments can remove the warts, they do not remove the HPV virus, so warts can recur after treatment. Traditional theories postulated that the virus remained in the body for a lifetime. However, new studies using sensitive DNA techniques have shown that through immunological response the virus can either be cleared or suppressed to levels below what PCR tests can measure. [2] According to the Center for Disease Control's report on HPV to Congress in 2004, studies have shown that 70% of new HPV infections clear within one year, and as many as 91% clear within two years. The median duration of new infections is typically eight months. The gradual development of an effective immune response is thought to be the likely mechanism for HPV DNA clearance. The state of the immune system determines the chances of removing the virus entirely and can be affected by factors such as HIV infection, certain medications, stress, or illness.[3] There is even some suggestion that effective treatment of the wart may aid the body's immune response.
Misdiagnosis cautions
It is a common misconception among men that hirsuties papillaris genitalis are genital warts. Hirsuties papillaris genitalis is not contagious and no treatment for it is necessary. Some may deem it unsightly and there are various methods of ridding the penis of the condition such as carbon dioxide laser treatment.
Genital warts (condylomata) should not be confused with Molluscum contagiosum (MC), which is often transmitted sexually, but does not occur internally as do condylomata. MC looks like small warts, which are much smaller than condylomata genital warts. It does not increase the risk of cervical cancer for women. Genital warts should not be confused with Fordyce's spots, which are considered benign.
References
2. Noah Scheinfeld Daniel S Lehman An evidence-based review of medical and surgical treatments of genital warts. Dermatology Online Journal (2006) 12 (3): 5. http://dermatology.cdlib.org/123/reviews/warts/scheinfeld.html
External links
- University of California, Santa Barbara's SexInfo has articles on both Anal Warts and Genital Warts
- Genital warts at the Open Directory Project
- Information on Genital Warts and HPV
- HPV information from the US CDC
- Information on Genital Warts
- Index page of genital wart images (Note - hosted on advertising site)
- CDC Report to Congress
Images
da:Kønsvorterde:Condylomata acuminata dv:ޖެނިޓަލް ވޯރޓްސްfr:verrue génitale it:Condiloma la:Condylomata acuminata lt:Smailiagalė kandiloma ms:Ketuat kelamin nl:Genitale wrat ja:尖圭コンジローマfi:Kondylooma sv:Kondylom ta:பாலுறுப்பு உண்ணிகள்
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
