Oral calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) does not augment UVB phototherapy for plaque psoriasis

as salicyclic acid in transdermal patches had a 3-month cure rate of 68%, whereas placebo with the occlusive patch material alone resulted in cleating in 28%. 4 Carbon dioxide laser has a cure rate of more than 95% after multiple treatments, but discomfort, risks of scarring, and cost make laser therapy a less optimal treatment in children. 6 In this small group of patients, our results were not as promising as those reported by Orlow and Paller. 1 One reason for this difference may be that they used cimetidine in conjunction with standard treatments in two thirds of their patients, all of w h o m had previously tried various topical agents alone without success. W e compared the effect of cimetidine alone with standard treatment in children who had, at most, one previous attempt with standard therapy. Although cimetidine might be helpful as adjuvant therapy for warts, we believe there is no compell ing evidence that it is effective by itself; in our view, it should not be used as a first-line treatment of common warts. Further studies comparing cimetidine with placebo (or other treatments) for recalcitrant warts may be warranted, but general prescribing of cimetidine for standard treatment of warts in children cannot be recommended on the basis o f the data available.