Treatment of scabies simplified

Background Scabies is rampant in our community and conventional scabiecidal therapies are cumbersome, difficult to instruct and hard to implement. This often results in high failure rates because of noncompliance and/or re-infestations. Objective We examined the efficacy of prolonged oral ivermectin administration in the eradication of scabies. Methods Six doses of oral ivermectin, each amounting to 300 μg/kg, were given one week apart to 50 patients and all of their family members/close contacts. No other instructions like change of personal wears, bed sheaths, etc were given. Results A compliance rate of 60% was observed. One and two months follow ups showed a cure rate of 80% and 96% respectively in the patients who completed the full course of the therapy. Conclusion Oral ivermectin is an effective antiscabietic that is easy to administer in our busy hospital/clinical settings and has reasonable patient acceptability. Furthermore, physicians need not bother about the application ritual, frequency and time of application, and change of clothing that are mandatory with the conventional treatment. Re-infestation is a major problem in our combined family system and/or large family size and extended administration of this comparatively safe drug also has potential to address this key issue.