Dermoscopy Features of Cutaneous Warts

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous warts are benign epithelial skin lesions, caused by human papilloma virus (HPV). These warts can affect any part of the body, and the clinical presentation of cutaneous warts is highly variable, making it difficult to diagnose. Dermoscopy is a relatively new, non-invasive, diagnostic tool, which can assist in the identification of different types of skin lesions. PURPOSE: The purpose of this research article is to determine the effectiveness of dermoscopy in discerning the most common characteristics of cutaneous warts, in order to provide sufficient information on characteristic features of cutaneous warts, which may aid in differentiating cutaneous warts from other similar skin lesions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 104 patients diagnosed with warts were included in our study. Each individual case had one of the four different types of warts: common warts (26 cases), palmer warts (27 cases), plantar warts (25 cases), flat warts (26 cases). RESULTS: In this study, we found that a percentage of cutaneous warts appear clinically nonclassical, overlapping with other lesions. A 42% (11 cases) of common warts were clinically nonclassical, and all of these cases presented with papillomatous growth. Other presentations were dotted, linear vessels, hairpin-like vessels and bleeding spots. All palmar wart cases were classical, while 8% (2 cases) of plantar warts were clinically nonclassical. The dermoscopic presentations were papillomatous growth, bleeding spots, dotted and linear vessels, structureless yellowish-gray appearance. Flat wart consisted of 11.5% (3 cases) with nonclassical clinical presentation. The dermoscopic presentation includes dotted and linear vessels, bleeding spots. Red, whitish (pale) and red-gray backgrounds. CONCLUSION: Dermoscopy can improve the accuracy of diagnosing different types of clinically nonclassical cutaneous warts, as well as help in distinguishing them from other similar skin lesions.