Journal Information
Vol. 108. Issue 7.
Pages 606 (September 2017)
Vol. 108. Issue 7.
Pages 606 (September 2017)
Commentary
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Oral Ivermectin: Regaining a Drug for the Treatment of Scabies
Ivermectina oral: recuperando un fármaco para el tratamiento de la escabiosis
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G. Blasco Morente
Facultativo Especialista de Dermatología Médico Quirúrgica y Venereología, Hospital de Alta Resolución de Alcalá la Real, Alcalá la Real, Jaén, Spain
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The article by our colleagues at Hospital Rey Juan Carlos and Hospital La Princesa reminds us of the possibility of using oral ivermectin to treat scabies.1 This treatment is accepted, recognized, and widely used in other countries—for example, Brazil—but a commercial formulation is not available in Spain. Therefore, the use of this treatment is limited and it must be specially prepared or requested for use as a foreign medication.

This medication is usually administered as a single 200μg/kg dose. However, this study found that a high percentage of patients required 2 or 3 doses. The authors therefore decided to increase the single dose to 400μg/kg and found that the medication was well tolerated. The 13 patients treated at this dosage were cured and did not require a second dose.

At both dosages, nearly half of the patients had eczematous eruptions as a side effect and required treatment with topical corticosteroids and emollients, as occurs with other treatments for scabies.

Because the sample size (23 patients) was small for such a common disease, further research is advisable in order to confirm the findings of the study. We therefore suggest that the authors continue working in this direction.

Reference
[1]
J. Sanz-Navarro, C. Feal, E. Dauden.
Treatment of Human Scabies with Oral Ivermectin. Eczematous Eruptions as a New Non-Reported Adverse Event.
Actas Dermosifiliogr, (2017),
pii: S0001-7310(17)30131-X. [Article in English, Spanish]

Please cite this article as: Blasco Morente G. Ivermectina oral: recuperando un fármaco para el tratamiento de la escabiosis. Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2017;108:606.

Copyright © 2017. Elsevier España, S.L.U. and AEDV
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