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Comparative study of efficacy and side effects of 10% and 20% koh aqueous solution for treatment of molluscum contagiosum in children

Authors:Atul Vijay(main Author) , Mohan Lal Gupta , Gaurav Dalela , Manoj Kumar Sharma
Int J Biol Med Res. 2012; 3(4): 2497-2501  |  PDF File

Abstract

Molluscum Contagiosum (MC) caused by Molluscum Contagiosum Virus (MCV) , is a common cutaneous viral infection in childhood age group as it can be acquired with contact in school , swmming pools, contact sports & day care centres. Previous studies suggests that in case of childhood, therapeutic approaches should be patient friendly and can be provided with parents at home with no or little discomfort. Previous studies of potassium hydroxide (KOH) aqueous solution support its use in children. Aims: the present study compares efficacy, duration of treatment & side effects between 10% & 20% KOH aqueous solution in children having molluscum contagiosum. Methods: the present comparative study consists of two groups of 40 patients each, treated with 10% & 20% KOH respectively after written consent from the parents of the patients. Out of 80 patients which were divided into two groups (A and B) 40 each. 10 patients from group A & 17 patients from group B didn’t follow the advised protocol so they were not include in the analysis. 53 patients in total & 30 in group A & 23 in group B were available for analysis. Parents were instructed to apply given strength of KOH once a day at bedtime on the lesion only. Diagnosis of the lesions was done by clinical findings. Study period consists of 12 weeks (June, 2011 to August, 2011). Results: Out of 53 patients 34 were male & 19 were female with male female ratio of 1.78:1. Age distribution ranges from 1-14 yrs with mean age of 6.5 years. Among 53 patients only 1 patient have single lesion remaining 52 patients had multiple lesion with mean lesion count 17.88. In group A mean lesion count was 17.4 and in group B 18.37. 53 patients completed the trial with complete clearance in 19 patients (63.33%%) within 8 weeks in group A and all the patients from group B recovered from the MC within 4 weeks. Total 39(73.58%) patients suffer from one or more of the side effects among these 19 patients (63.33%) were from group A & 20(86.95%) from group B. Conclusion: Molluscum contagiosum is more common in males in the age group of 5-10 yrs. 10% KOH is relatively less effective but having less side effects & was more acceptable by patients and their parents as compared to 20% KOH. So this study recommends use of 10% koh which is much safer , can be easily applied by parents at their home instead of 20% koh which is having more in numbers & intensity of side effects. But due to small size of study sample we recommend further study with larger sample size to establish or deny the findings.