title: Treatment of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) infestation: is regular combing alone with a special detection comb effective at all levels?
abstract: Head lice infestation (HLI) caused by Pediculus humanus capitis has been a public health problem worldwide. Specially designed combs are used to identify head lice, while anti-lice products are applied on the scalp for treatment. In the present study, we aimed to test whether combing only by precision detection comb (PDC) or metal pin comb (MPC) could be effective alternatives to the use of anti-lice products in children. A total of 560 children from two rural schools in Turkey were screened. In the PDC trial, children were combed every second day for 14 days, while in the MPC trial, combing was performed once in every four days for 15 days. Children were divided into two groups (dry combing and wet combing) for both trials and results were compared. The results showed no significant differences between dry and wet combing strategies for both combs for the removal of head lice (p > 0.05). The number of adult head lice declined significantly on each subsequent combing day in both approaches, except on day 15 in the MPC trial. In the end, no louse was found in 54.1 and 48.9% of children in the PDC and MPC trials, respectively. Since family members of infested children were not available, they were not checked for HLI. Four times combing within 2 weeks with MPC combs was found effective for both treatment of low HLI and prevention of heavy HLI. In conclusion, regular combing by special combs decreases HLI level in children and is safely applicable as long-term treatment.
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Letters, Department of Biology, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey, ozgur.kurt@acibadem.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Özgür
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Kurt
authors.forename: I Cüneyt
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Balcıoğlu
authors.forename: M Emin
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Limoncu
authors.forename: Nogay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Girginkardeşler
authors.forename: Süha K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Arserim
authors.forename: Serhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Görgün
authors.forename: Tuba
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oyur
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karakuş
authors.forename: Didem
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Düzyol
authors.forename: Aysegül Aksoy
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gökmen
authors.forename: Gül
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kitapçıoğlu
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Özbel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006203:Hair Preparations; D006801:Humans; D010373:Lice Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D010374:Pediculus; D012424:Rural Population; D012536:Scalp Dermatoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D012574:Schools; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006203:Hair Preparations