scabies
SCABIES
Treatment Guideline Chart
Scabies is a contagious disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei var hominis.
The affected individual usually complains of having a highly pruritic rash that occurs at night.
It occurs more often in children <15 years of age, sexually active young adults, the immunocompromised and in persons living in crowded living conditions (eg nursing homes, military barracks).
Transmission is typically by direct skin contact with an infected person and in adults, sexual transmission is common.

Scabies References

  1. Angel TA, Nigro J, Levy ML. Infestations in the pediatric patient. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2000;47:921-935. PMID: 10943266
  2. Chosidow O. Scabies and pediculosis. Lancet. 2000;355:819-826. PMID: 10711939
  3. Karthikeyan K. Treatment of scabies: newer perspectives. Postgrad Med J. 2005;81:7-11. PMID: 15640423
  4. Chouela EN, Abeldano AM, Pellerano G, et al. Study: equivalent therapeutic efficacy and safety of ivermectin and lindane in the treatment of human scabies. Arch Dermatol. 1999;135:651-655. PMID: 10376691
  5. Fawcett RS. Ivermectin use in scabies. Am Fam Physician. 2003;68:1089-1092. PMID: 14524395
  6. Raimer SS. New and emerging therapies in pediatric dermatology. Dermatol Clin. 2000;18:73-78. PMID: 10626113
  7. Leonard EA, Sheldon IV. Ectoparasitic infections. Clin Fam Pract. 2005;7:97-104
  8. Morgan-Glenn PD. Scabies. Pediatr Rev. 2001;22:322-323. PMID: 11533383
  9. Scott GR. European guideline for the management of scabies. Intl J STD AIDS. 2001;12(Suppl 3):58-61. PMID: 11589798
  10. Usha V. A comparative study of oral ivermectin and topical permethrin cream in the treatment of scabies. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2000;42:236-240. PMID: 10642678
  11. Arthropod bites and infestations. In: Behrman RE, Kliegman RM, Jenson HB, eds. Nelson textbook of Pediatrics. 16th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders, Elsevier; 2000
  12. Habif TP. Scabies. Clinical dermatology. 3rd ed: Mosby-Year Book Inc; 1996
  13. MedWorm http://www.medworm.com/rss/index.php/Dermatology/12/ http://www.medworm.com/rss/medicalfeeds/specialities/Dermatology-News.xml
  14. MedWormhttp://www.medworm.com/rss/index.php/Pediatrics/33/http://www.medworm.com/rss/medicalfeeds/specialities/Pediatrics.xml
  15. Rapini RP. Parasitic infestation: Scabies. AAD. http://www.aad.org/education/parasites.htm. Jun 2003. Accessed 14 Aug 2003
  16. Malerba A. Scabies. eMedicine. http://emedicine.com/derm/topic382.htm. May 2003. Accessed 14 Aug 2003
  17. British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH). 2016 UK national guideline on the management of scabies. BASHH. https://www.bashh.org. 11 Nov 2016.
  18. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Scabies: Medications. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/. Feb 2018.
  19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Scabies: Treatment. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/. Oct 2018.
  20. Executive Committee of Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Scabies. Guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of scabies in Japan (third edition): Executive Committee of Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Scabies. J Dermatol. 2017 Sep;44(9):991-1014. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.1389. PMID: 28561292
  21. Goldstein BG, Goldstein AO. Scabies: Epidemiology, clinical features, and diagnosis. UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com. 02 Aug 2019.
  22. Goldstein BG, Goldstein AO. Scabies: Management. UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com. 27 Jul 2018.
  23. Hardy M, Engelman D, Steer A. Scabies: A clinical update. Aust Am Physician. 2017;46(5):264-268. PMID: 28472570
  24. Ministry of Health Malaysia. Guideline for management of scabies in adults and children. http://www.moh.gov.my. Feb 2015.
  25. Salavastru CM, Chosidow O, Boffa MJ, et al. European guidelines for the management of scabies. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2017 Aug;31(8):1248-1253. doi: 10.1111/jdv.14351. PMID: 28639722
  26. Walton SF, Currie BJ. Problems in diagnosing scabies, a global disease in human and animal populations. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2007 Apr;20(2):268-279. doi: 10.1128/CMR.00042-061. PMID: 17428886
  27. Center for Health Protection. Department of Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Extended Care service: Scabies management. Center for Health Protection. https://chp.gov.hk. Oct 2019.
  28. Chandler DJ, Fuller LC. A review of scabies: An infestation more than skin deep. Dermatology. 2019;235(2):79-90. doi: 10.1159/000495290. PMID: 30544123
  29. Chng L, Holt DC, Field M, et al. Molecular diagnosis of scabies using a novel probe-based polymerase chain reaction assay targeting high-copy number repetitive sequences in the Sarcoptes scabiei genome. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Feb;15(2):e0009149. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009149. PMID: 33626043
  30. Davis JS, McGloughlin S, Tong SY, et al. A novel clinical grading scale to guide the management of crusted scabies. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013 Sep;7(9):e2387. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002387. PMID: 24069468
  31. Engelman D, Yoshizumi J, Hay RJ, et al. The 2020 International Alliance for the Control of Scabies consensus criteria for the diagnosis of scabies. Br J Dermatol. 2020 Nov;183(5):808-820. doi: 10.1111/bjd.18943. PMID: 32034956
  32. Mueller SM, Gysin S, Schweitzer M, et al. Implementation and evaluation of an algorithm for the management of scabies outbreaks. BMC Infect Dis. 2019 Feb;19(1):200. doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-3818-5. PMID: 30819115
  33. Richards RN. Scabies: Diagnostic and therapeutic update. J Cutan Med Surg. 2021 Jan;25(1):95-101. doi: 10.1177/1203475420960446. PMID: 32998532
  34. Thean LJ, Engelman D, Kaldor J, et al. Scabies: New opportunities for management and population control. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2019 Feb;38(2):211-213. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000002211. PMID: 30299425
  35. Widaty S, Miranda E, Cornain EF, et al. Scabies: Update on treatment and efforts for prevention and control in highly endemic settings. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2022 Feb;16(2):244-251. doi: 10.3855/jidc.15222. PMID: 35298417
Editor's Recommendations
Special Reports