title: Self-diagnosis of active head lice infestation by individuals from an impoverished community: high sensitivity and specificity.
abstract: To compare sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of self-diagnosis for head lice infestation with visual inspection, we conducted a study in an urban slum in Brazil. Individuals were asked about active head lice infestation (self-diagnosis); we performed visual inspection and thereafter wet combing (gold standard). Of the 175 individuals included, 77 (44%) had an active head lice infestation. For self-diagnosis, sensitivity (80.5%), specificity (91.8%), PPV (88.6%) and NPV (85.7%) were high. Sensitivity of visual inspection was 35.1%. Public health professionals can use self-diagnosis as a diagnostic tool, to estimate accurately prevalence of pediculosis in a community, and to monitor ongoing intervention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microbiology and Hygiene, Campus Benjamin Franklin, University of Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pilger
authors.forename: Adak
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khakban
authors.forename: Jorg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heukelbach
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feldmeier
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007559:Ivermectin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010373:Lice Infestations / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010374:Pediculus; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012536:Scalp Dermatoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D016353:Self-Examination; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000977:Antiparasitic Agents; D007559:Ivermectin