Combined herbal fumigation and fire acupuncture for refractory plantar warts: A retrospective study

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: >0.05). Conclusions: The study confirms that CHFST, when combined with fire acupuncture, is more effective than conventional cryotherapy for treating refractory plantar warts.