Pilot trial of ribavirin for the treatment of laryngeal papillomatosis

The antiviral drug ribavirin was used as an adjunct to laser surgery for the treatment of patients with laryngeal papillomatosis (LP). An uncontrolled clinical trial for four patients with ribavirin treatment at a daily dose of 23 mg/kg was performed. Three adults received drug prior to laser surgery and continuing orally for 6 months. One infant was treated for 3 months. Two adults achieved complete remissions for at least 2 consecutive months, and both patients developed only minimal recurrent disease in 4 months of follow-up. The other adult and the child sustained a partial response and an increased interval between the required surgeries. Ribavirin caused only a mild, reversible reduction in hemoglobin and reticulocytosis. This preliminary trial shows that ribavirin may be an effective therapy in combination with surgery for LP in a larger controlled clinical trial.