Autoinoculation versus 35% trichloroacetic acid for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum: An open-label randomized controlled trial

Background: Despite the availability of different treatment modalities, molluscum is often recurrent after the treatment. Autoinoculation in molluscum is a recently studied modality. Objective: The aim of this article is to evaluate and compare the efficacy of autoinoculation and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) for the disappearance of molluscum contagiosum (MC). Methods: This prospective, randomized controlled trial was done in which a total of 128 patients of molluscum were divided into two groups of 64 patients each: Group A treated with autoinoculation and Group B received TCA application. The patients were followed-up till 6 months for efficacy and safety. Results: At the end of 3 months, a statistically significant (P=0.023) complete clearance of lesions was noted in Group A (80%) when compared with Group B (62%). At the end of 6 months, the recurrence rate was significantly less in the autoinoculation group (3%) than in the TCA group (42%). Conclusion: We conclude that autoinoculation appears to be a safe, simple, and efficacious procedure with better clearance, minimal expertise, recurrence, and complications when compared with TCA.