THE COST OF TREATING GENITAL WARTS

Background. Genital warts is a common sexually transmitted disease tre ated by a variety of medical specialists. Standard therapies offer sym ptomatic relief but cannot ensure lasting remission. Using the clinica l literature, claims databases, and a panel of experienced practitione rs, the relative efficacy, cost, and cost effectiveness of five common treatments for genital warts were assessed in this study. Methods. We reviewed the clinical literature for the following genital wart thera pies: podofilox, podophyllin, trichloroacetic acid, cryotherapy, and l aser therapy, focusing on their relative efficacy. Physicians experien ced in treating genital warts defined standard treatment protocols for men and women patients with moderate wart burdens, Using national cla ims data and protocols developed by physicians, we derived three econo mic models based on provider charges, third-party payments, and a reso urce-based relative value scale, respectively. Results. The literature review demonstrated highly variable success and recurrence rates amon g treatment methods and failed to show that one treatment provides con sistently superior efficacy. In the economic models, treating women ge nerally proved more costly than treating men per episode of care. This was due to the need for more extensive follow-up visits in the treatm ent of women. Total costs were highest for cryotherapy and lowest for a patient-applied therapy that reduced the need for follow-up visits. Conclusions. Clinicians should consider both clinical and cost issues when choosing the appropriate treatment for patients with genital wart s.