Condylomata acuminata: A retrospective analysis on clinical characteristics and treatment options

BACKGROUND: Anogenital HPV is the most frequent sexually transmitted disease (STD) worldwide. There is no obligation to officially register HPV infections in Germany and thus the epidemiology of condylomata acuminata (CA) is not well characterized. OBJECTIVES: To provide a better understanding of the epidemiology of CA and outline the treatment options that are available to patients with this disease. METHODS: Data of 1124 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of CA, presenting in our university hospital outpatient consultation between 2011 and 2015 were retrospectively evaluated and the efficacy of various types of treatments was addressed. RESULTS: A large patient cohort of 1124 predominately young (mean age 36.5 years old), male (83.9 %), single (50.2 %), heterosexual (92.8 %) Germans (62.5 %) received consults in our outpatient clinic for STDs. Nearly 60 % of the diagnosed patients presented with first-time CA, indicating a considerable proportion of roughly 40 % recurrent infections as well. Only 13.7 % of patients were previously immunized against HPV. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of a large patient cohort provided a better understanding of the present epidemiology of CA in an outpatient hospital setting in Germany. An effective three-scale therapeutic regime and preventive measures were outlined.