Journal article
A Novel Clinical Grading Scale to Guide the Management of Crusted Scabies Editor
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol.7(9), e2387
2013
Abstract
Background: Crusted scabies, or hyperinfestation with Sarcoptes scabiei, occurs in people with an inadequate immune response to the mite. In recent decades, data have emerged suggesting that treatment of crusted scabies with oral ivermectin combined with topical agents leads to lower mortality, but there are no generally accepted tools for describing disease severity. Here, we describe a clinical grading scale for crusted scabies and its utility in real world practice. Methodology/Principal Findings: In 2002, Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), a hospital in tropical Australia developed and began using a clinical grading scale to guide the treatment of crusted scabies. We conducted a retrospective observational study including all episodes of admission to RDH for crusted scabies during the period October 2002-December 2010 inclusive. Patients who were managed according to the grading scale were compared with those in whom the scale was not used at the time of admission but was calculated retrospectively. There were 49 admissions in 30 patients during the study period, of which 49 (100%) were in Indigenous Australians, 29 (59%) were male and the median age was 44.1 years. According to the grading scale, 8 (16%) episodes were mild, 24 (49%) were moderate, and 17 (35%) were severe. Readmission within the study period was significantly more likely with increasing disease severity, with an odds ratio (95% CI) of 12.8 (1.3-130) for severe disease compared with mild. The patients managed according to the grading scale (29 episodes) did not differ from those who were not (20 episodes), but they received fewer doses of ivermectin and had a shorter length of stay (11 vs. 16 days, p = 0.02). Despite this the outcomes were no different, with no deaths in either group and a similar readmission rate. Conclusions/Significance: Our grading scale is a useful tool for the assessment and management of crusted scabies.
Details
- Title
- A Novel Clinical Grading Scale to Guide the Management of Crusted Scabies Editor
- Authors
- Joshua S Davis (Author) - Menzies School of Research HealthSteven McGloughlin (Author) - Royal Darwin HospitalSteven Y C Tong (Author) - Menzies School of Research HealthShelley F Walton (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringBart J Currie (Author) - Menzies School of Research Health
- Publication details
- PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol.7(9), e2387; 5
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Date published
- 2013
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002387
- ISSN
- 1935-2727
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2013 Davis et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449937602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Infectious Diseases
- Parasitology
- Tropical Medicine
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