Treatment of scabies with oral ivermectin in 15 infants: a retrospective study on tolerance and efficacy

Abstract

Ivermectin is generally well tolerated in infants. The 80% rate of healing observed in infants who had failed to respond to at least two other topical treatments suggests that ivermectin could be considered for treatment of infants with recalcitrant or relapsing scabies.

Question 1: Is it safe to use ivermectin in children less than five years of age and weighing less than 15 kg?

“…Of these, 30 studies were identified which described the use of ivermectin in children less than 5 years old and, where weight was specified, less than 15 kg 1–30. One study had sufficient demographic and safety data in the original manuscript to fulfil the inclusion criteria 1. For the remaining 29 articles, we attempted to contact the corresponding authors to request further demographic and safety data to confirm inclusion criteria and received 13 responses.…”

“…From these studies, only the outcomes for children aged less than 5 years and, where data were available, less than 15 kg were included (table 1). The youngest child was 3 months of age 1. Four of the studies specified that children were less than 15 kg, and the remaining five studies were included due to the young age of the children in these studies in whom the expected weight would be less than 15 kg.…”

“…The ivermectin formulation administered in the studies included whole tablets (one study),11 crushed tablets (three studies),2 3 15 prepared capsules containing a weight-based dose specific for each child (one study)1 and a prepared 0.6% liquid formulation (one study) 10. The remaining studies did not provide information on the drug formulation used (three studies) 6–8.…”

Escabiose: Revisão e Foco na Realidade Portuguesa

“…Os autores afirmaram que a elevada taxa de cura observada, poderia justificar o uso da ivermectina em crianças com escabiose recalcitrante ou recidivante que não tinham tido resposta a pelo menos dois tratamentos tópicos. 45 Quanto ao uso tópico de ivermectina na escabiose, um estudo de 2016, que incluiu 62 doentes, mostrou que a ivermectina a 1% é uma formulação segura e eficaz no tratamento de escabioses não-complicadas, embora sejam necessários futuros ensaios clínicos deste produto. 46 A ivermectina oral, para uso em humanos, não está comercializada em Portugal, mas poderá ser obtida na forma de manipulado.…”

Impetigo and scabies – Disease burden and modern treatment strategies

“…Resistance is a potential concern particularly in endemic communities. 56 Also, there are limited data demonstrating safety and tolerability of ivermectin in infants 57 and it is not yet licensed for the treatment of uncomplicated scabies in many regions.…”