sodium-nitrite and Molluscum-Contagiosum

Molluscum contagiosum is a common skin infection that is caused by a pox virus and occurs mainly in children. The infection usually resolves within months in people without immune deficiency, but treatment may be preferred for social and cosmetic reasons or to avoid spreading the infection. A clear evidence base supporting the various treatments is lacking.This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2006, and updated previously in 2009.. To assess the effects of specific treatments and management strategies, including waiting for natural resolution, for cutaneous, non-genital molluscum contagiosum in people without immune deficiency.. We updated our searches of the following databases to July 2016: the Cochrane Skin Group Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and LILACS. We searched six trial registers and checked the reference lists of included studies and review articles for further references to relevant randomised controlled trials. We contacted pharmaceutical companies and experts in the field to identify further relevant randomised controlled trials.. Randomised controlled trials of any treatment of molluscum contagiosum in people without immune deficiency. We excluded trials on sexually transmitted molluscum contagiosum and in people with immune deficiency (including those with HIV infection).. Two review authors independently selected studies, assessed methodological quality, and extracted data from selected studies. We obtained missing data from study authors where possible.. We found 11 new studies for this update, resulting in 22 included studies with a total of 1650 participants. The studies examined the effects of topical (20 studies) and systemic interventions (2 studies).Among the new included studies were the full trial reports of three large unpublished studies, brought to our attention by an expert in the field. They all provided moderate-quality evidence for a lack of effect of 5% imiquimod compared to vehicle (placebo) on short-term clinical cure (4 studies, 850 participants, 12 weeks after start of treatment, risk ratio (RR) 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92 to 1.93), medium-term clinical cure (2 studies, 702 participants, 18 weeks after start of treatment, RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.14), and long-term clinical cure (2 studies, 702 participants, 28 weeks after start of treatment, RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.17). We found similar but more certain results for short-term improvement (4 studies, 850 participants, 12 weeks after start of treatment, RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.47; high-quality evidence). For the outcome 'any adverse effect', we found high-quality evidence for little or no difference between topical 5% imiquimod and vehicle (3 studies, 827 participants, RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.07), but application site reactions were more frequent in the groups treated with imiquimod (moderate-quality evidence): any application site reaction (3 studies, 827 participants, RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.77, the number needed to treat for an additional harmful outcome (NNTH) was 11); severe application site reaction (3 studies, 827 participants, RR 4.33, 95% CI 1.16 to 16.19, NNTH over 40).For the following 11 comparisons, there was limited evidence to show which treatment was superior in achieving short-term clinical cure (low-quality evidence): 5% imiquimod less effective than cryospray (1 study, 74 participants, RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.78) and 10% potassium hydroxide (2 studies, 67 participants, RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.93); 10% Australian lemon myrtle oil more effective than olive oil (1 study, 31 participants, RR 17.88, 95% CI 1.13 to 282.72); 10% benzoyl peroxide cream more effective than 0.05% tretinoin (1 study, 30 participants, RR 2.20, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.79); 5% sodium nitrite co-applied with 5% salicylic acid more effective than 5% salicylic acid alone (1 study, 30 participants, RR 3.50, 95% CI 1.23 to 9.92); and iodine plus tea tree oil more effective than tea tree oil (1 study, 37 participants, RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.. No single intervention has been shown to be convincingly effective in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum. We found moderate-quality evidence that topical 5% imiquimod was no more effective than vehicle in terms of clinical cure, but led to more application site reactions, and high-quality evidence that there was no difference between the treatments in terms of short-term improvement. However, high-quality evidence showed a similar number of general side effects in both groups. As the evidence found did not favour any one treatment, the natural resolution of molluscum contagiosum remains a strong method for dealing with the condition.

Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Aminoquinolines; Anti-Infective Agents, Local; Benzoyl Peroxide; Cimetidine; Humans; Hydroxides; Imiquimod; Molluscum Contagiosum; Myrtus; Olive Oil; Phytotherapy; Plant Oils; Potassium Compounds; Povidone-Iodine; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Remission, Spontaneous; Salicylic Acid; Sodium Nitrite

Molluscum contagiosum is a common skin infection, caused by a pox virus. The infection will usually resolve within months in people with a normal immune system. Many treatments have been used for molluscum contagiosum but a clear evidence base supporting them is lacking.This is an updated version of the original Cochrane Review published in Issue 2, 2006.. To assess the effects of management strategies (including waiting for natural resolution) for cutaneous, non-genital molluscum contagiosum in otherwise healthy people.. In June 2009 we updated our searches of the Cochrane Skin Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2009), MEDLINE, EMBASE, and LILACS. We also searched ongoing trials registers, reference lists, and contacted pharmaceutical companies and experts in the field.. We investigated randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum. We excluded trials on sexually transmitted molluscum contagiosum and in people with lowered immunity (including those with HIV infection).. Two authors independently selected studies, assessed methodological quality, and extracted data from selected studies.. Eleven studies, with a total number of 495 participants, examined the effects of topical (9 studies), systemic, and homoeopathic interventions (1 study each). Limited evidence was found for the efficacy of sodium nitrite co-applied with salicylic acid compared to salicylic acid alone (risk ratio (RR) 3.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23 to 9.92); for Australian lemon myrtle oil compared to its vehicle, olive oil (RR 17.88, 95% CI 1.13 to 282.72); and for benzoyl peroxide cream compared to tretinoin (RR 2.20, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.79). No statistically significant differences were found for 10 other comparisons, most of which addressed 2 topical treatments.Study limitations included no blinding (four studies), many dropouts (three studies), and no intention-to-treat analysis; small study sizes may have led to important differences being missed. None of the evaluated treatment options were associated with serious adverse effects.. No single intervention has been shown to be convincingly effective in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum. The update identified six new studies, most of them reporting on interventions not included in the original version. However, the conclusions of the review did not change.

Topics: Anti-Infective Agents, Local; Cimetidine; Humans; Hydroxides; Molluscum Contagiosum; Phytotherapy; Potassium Compounds; Povidone-Iodine; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Remission, Spontaneous; Salicylic Acid; Sodium Nitrite

Molluscum contagiosum is a common skin infection, caused by a virus, which will usually resolve within months in people with a normal immune system. Many treatments have been promoted for molluscum contagiosum but a clear evidence base supporting them is lacking.. To assess the effects of management strategies (including waiting for natural resolution) for cutaneous, non-genital molluscum contagiosum in healthy people.. We searched the Skin Group Specialised Register (March 2004), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (2004, Issue 2), MEDLINE (from 1966 to March 2004), EMBASE (from 1980 to March 2004) and LILACS (from 1982 to March 2004) databases. We also searched reference lists and contacted pharmaceutical companies and experts in the field.. Randomised controlled trials for treatment of molluscum contagiosum were investigated. Trials on sexually transmitted molluscum contagiosum and in people with lowered immunity (including those with HIV infection) were excluded.. Study selection and assessment of methodological quality were carried out by two independent authors. As similar comparisons between two interventions were not made in more than one study, statistical pooling was not performed.. Five studies, with a total number of 137 participants, examined the effects of topical (three studies), systemic and homoeopathic interventions (one study each). Limited evidence was found for sodium nitrite co-applied with salicylic acid compared to salicylic acid alone (risk ratio (RR) 3.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23 to 9.92). No statistically significant differences were found for topical povidone iodine plus salicylic acid compared to povidone iodine alone (RR of cure 1.67, 95% CI 0.81 to 3.41) or compared to salicylic acid alone. Also no statistically significant differences were found for potassium hydroxide compared to placebo; systemic treatment with cimetidine versus placebo or systemic treatment with calcarea carbonica, a homoeopathic drug, versus placebo (RR 5.57, 95% CI 0.93 to 33.54). Study limitations included no blinding (two studies), many dropouts (three studies) and no intention-to-treat analysis (two studies); small study sizes may have led to important differences being missed. None of the evaluated treatment options were associated with serious adverse effects.. No single intervention has been shown to be convincingly effective in treating molluscum contagiosum.

Topics: Anti-Infective Agents, Local; Cimetidine; Humans; Hydroxides; Molluscum Contagiosum; Potassium Compounds; Povidone-Iodine; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Remission, Spontaneous; Salicylic Acid; Sodium Nitrite

A double-blind, group-sequential clinical trial of acidified nitrite was performed to demonstrate the efficacy of this nitric oxide donor in treating molluscum contagiosum. Subjects received either 5% sodium nitrite co-applied with 5% salicylic acid under occlusion, or identical cream with 5% salicylic acid, omitting sodium nitrite. Active and control treatment groups were well matched for the number and duration of lesions and made a similar number of applications. We found a 75% cure rate in the active treatment group and 21% cure with control treatment (P = 0.01). The mean time to cure was 1.83 months. Staining of the skin and irritation were frequent side-effects but did not prevent successful treatment.

Topics: Administration, Cutaneous; Antiviral Agents; Child; Child, Preschool; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Molluscum Contagiosum; Nitric Oxide Donors; Salicylic Acid; Sodium Nitrite; Treatment Outcome