SCABIES

ORAL IVERMECTIN AS THE TREATMENT

Abstract

All the conventional scabicidal drugs are used topically and have poor compliance. In several reports and studies,
ivermectin, an oral antiparasitic drug, has been shown to be an effective scabicide without any major side effect. Objective: To evaluate
the efficacy and safety of oral ivermectin in the treatment of scabies. D e s i g n : An open, randomized clinical trial (convenience sampling).
Settings: Dermatology Department, Divisional Headquarters (DHQ) and Allied Hospitals, Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad, Pakistan,
from 1st September 2002 to 28th February 2003. Material a n d m e t h o d s : The study comprised of 100 outdoor patients of scabies, 5-60
years of age, diagnosed on history, clinical examination and light microscopy. They and their affected family members were given a single
oral dose of ivermectin 200 mg /kg body weight. Patients were followed up at intervals of 1,2,4 and 8 weeks. R e s u l t s : Fifty-seven patients
(57%) had complete recovery at 2 weeks whereas 93 patients (93%) had complete recovery at 4 weeks. Seven (7%) failure cases were
given a second dose all of which had complete recovery at 8 weeks. No patient developed any major adverse effect. Blood, urine
examinations and liver function tests did not show any significant abnormality. C o n c l u s i o n : Oral ivermectin, in a single dose of 200 mg/kg
body weight, was effective and safe in the treatment of scabies and could be a useful substitute to conventional topical antiscabietics.
However further large scale studies are required to further evaluate its safety.