Lindane and other treatments for lice and scabies: a review of clinical effectiveness and safety
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Record ID 32011001168
English
Authors' recommendations:
In summary, there are several promising new treatments for the management of head lice including ivermectin, malathion, benzyl alcohol, spinosad, isopropyl myristate, and dimeticone. However, benzyl alcohol has only been shown to be clinically effective compared to placebo. Further RCTs are needed to establish the clinical effectiveness of benzyl alcohol relative to other treatments for head lice. The available evidence suggests that permethrin and ivermectin may be the most clinically effective therapies for scabies. Due to limitations noted in the identified studies, further research is required to establish the clinical effectiveness of emerging therapies for lice and scabies. Most interventions appeared to be well tolerated. One RCT reported seizures in one patient treated with ivermectin for head lice. The majority of the included studies were not powered to detect rare adverse effects. Larger studies and post-marketing surveillance is required to confirm the safety of newer interventions, particularly when used in neonates, the elderly, patients with significant comorbidities, and pregnant or lactating women. There have been reports of neurotoxicity and death with the use of lindane. However, most of these reports occurred following misuse of the product.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2010
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Insecticides
- Lice Infestations
- Scabies
- Treatment Outcome
Contact
Organisation Name:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Contact Address:
600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553; Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name:
requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email:
requests@cadth.ca
Copyright:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
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