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Pediculosis capitis (head lice) can lead to school absenteeism and, often, to parental anxiety. Treatment usually involves topical therapy that can be time consuming and painful if excoriations are present. Also, pediculicide resistance is increasing and can lead to treatment failure. Ivermectin is effective for treatment of body lice and scabies, but few studies have evaluated the oral preparation for head lice in children.
In an open-label study, investigators recruited 44 children (age range, 6 to 15 years) living in an indigenous community in Mexico with confirmed head lice and treated them with a single dose of oral ivermectin (200 µg/kg). No nit removal was included in the protocol. One week after treatment, no children had adult live …