Comparison of wet combing with malathion for treatment of head lice in the UK: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.
Background: Concern about the effectiveness and toxicity of insecticide lotions has led to promotion of mechanical methods to remove head lice. We compared the effectiveness of "bug-busting" (wet combing with a fine-toothed comb) and malathion lotion.Methods: We screened 4037 schoolchildren in two c...
| Published in: | Lancet Vol. 356; no. 9229; pp. 540 - 545 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article |
| Published: |
Lancet
08/12/2000
|
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=107140850&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 107140850 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 01406736 LAN jtl: Lancet issn: 01406736 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 08/12/2000 vid: 356 iid: 9229 pid: 1297 pub: Lancet place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 107140850 107140850 NLM10950230 2000071046 10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02578-2 NLM10950230 107140850 ppf: 540 ppct: 5 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Comparison of wet combing with malathion for treatment of head lice in the UK: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. aug: au: Roberts RJ Casey D Morgan DA Petrovic M Roberts, R J Casey, D Morgan, D A Petrovic, M affil: Department of Public Health, North Wales Health Authority, Mold, UK sug: subj: Lice Infestations Therapy Malathion Therapeutic Use Grooming Methods Treatment Outcomes Clinical Trials Lice Infestations Drug Therapy Adolescence Funding Source Child, Preschool Patient Compliance Child Comparative Studies Confidence Intervals Chi Square Test Fisher's Exact Test Human Adolescent: 13-18 years Child, Preschool: 2-5 years Child: 6-12 years ab: Background: Concern about the effectiveness and toxicity of insecticide lotions has led to promotion of mechanical methods to remove head lice. We compared the effectiveness of "bug-busting" (wet combing with a fine-toothed comb) and malathion lotion.Methods: We screened 4037 schoolchildren in two counties in Wales, UK (intermediate resistance to malathion). Of 167 found to have head lice, 81 (aged 3-14 years) were eligible to participate in a randomised controlled trial that compared mechanical removal of lice by a commercial kit every 3-4 days for 2 weeks with two applications of 0.5% malathion lotion 7 days apart; parents carried out both treatments. The outcome measure was the presence of live lice 7 days after the end of treatment. Analyses were by intention to treat.Findings: 74 children completed the study and 72 were included in the analysis. The cure rate was 38% (12 of 32) for bug-busting and 78% (31 of 40) for malathion. Children assigned bug-busting were 2.8 (95% CI 1.5-5.2) times more likely than those assigned malathion to have lice at the end of treatment (p=0.0006).Interpretation: Malathion lotion was twice as effective as bug-busting, even in an area with intermediate resistance. Policies advocating bug-busting as first-line treatment for head lice in the general population are inappropriate. Assessment of the outcome of treatment 1-2 weeks after completion is essential for successful management. Only about 50% of participants complied fully with treatment, so future trials should be pragmatic in design, avoid false incentives, and study representative samples of children. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|