RISK OF ACQUIRING HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS FROM THE PLUME PRODUCED BY THECARBON-DIOXIDE LASER IN THE TREATMENT OF WARTS

Background: The documented presence of human papillomavirus DNA in the plume after carbon dioxide laser treatment of warts has raised questi ons about the risk of transmission of human papillomavirus to laser su rgeons. Objective: We sought to define more clearly the risks to surge ons of acquiring warts from the CO2 laser plume. Methods: A comparativ e study was conducted between CO2 laser surgeons and two large groups of population-based control subjects (patients with warts in Olmsted C ounty and at the Mayo Clinic from 1988 to 1992). Conclusions were draw n about the risks to surgeons of acquiring warts from the CO2 laser pl ume. Results: There was no significant difference (p = 0.569) between the incidence of CO2 laser surgeons with warts (5.4%) and patients wit h warts in Olmsted County from 1988 to 1992 (4.9%). There was a signif icant difference between the incidence of plantar (p = 0.004), nasopha ryngeal (p = 0.001), and genital and perianal warts (p = 0.004) in the study group and in patients with warts treated at the Mayo Clinic fro m 1988 to 1992. No significant difference was found between physicians who had acquired warts and those who were wart free, on the basis of the failure to use gloves (p = 0.418), standard surgical masks (p = 0. 748), laser masks (p = 0.418), smoke evacuators (p = 0.564), eye prote ction (p = 0.196), or full surgical gowns (p = 0.216). Finally, the in cidence rates of surgeons with warts per 1000 person-years did not inc rease significantly (p = 0.951) as the length of time that the CO2 las er was used to treat warts increased. Conclusion: When warts are group ed together without specification of anatomic site, CO2 laser surgeons are no more likely to acquire warts than a person in the general popu lation. However, human papillomavirus types that cause genital warts s eem to have a predilection for infecting the upper airway mucosa, and laser plume containing these viruses may represent more of a hazard to the surgeon.