Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy and safety of Chinese Herbal Fumigation Steam Therapy (CHFST) combined with fire acupuncture in the treatment of refractory plantar warts. METHODOLOGY: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Hangzhou Linping District Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital. A total of 126 patients with refractory plantar warts who received treatment from March 2022 to March 2025 were included. Of them, 63 patients who received CHFST combined with fire acupuncture (observation group) were matched with the cohort receiving cryotherapy (control group) in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome was the clinical efficacy assessed three months after treatment. The secondary outcome was the improvement in immune indicators and the occurrence of adverse reactions. RESULTS: After three-month follow-up, the clinical efficacy of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). In both groups, the post-treatment levels of T lymphocytes (CD8(+), CD3(+), CD4(+) and CD4+/CD8+) were higher than those before treatment. Post-treatment levels of CD3(+), CD4(+) and CD4(+)/CD8(+) in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms that CHFST, when combined with fire acupuncture, is more effective than conventional cryotherapy for treating refractory plantar warts.