infestations Flashcards
Pediculous humanus capitis aka ?
head lice
- Highly contagious disease that often occurs in schools and day-care centers
- It can cause outbreaks anywhere that people live in close quarters, including nursing homes, dorms, prisons.
- There is usually intense pruritus of the scalp
dx?
pediculosis capitis
describe a louse
- 1-3 mm long, flattened brownish-gray, with 3 pairs of legs and claws
- lifespan 14-18 days
- nits are 1 mm in diameter and opalescent
Pediculosis Capitis is MC in who and during when?
- MC in females
- White school aged children/mothers
- Warmer months
may be mistaken for pediculosis capitis; however, these scales are greasy, yellow, irregular in shape, and are easily removable, unlike the scales of pediculosis capitis, which adhere to the hair shaft
ddx?
seb derm
similar pruritus and lymphadenopathy but is associated with alopecia. Nits are not found on close examination of the hair
ddx?
Tinea capitis
living off plant detritus may be found in the scalp of a child who plays in wooded areas but are morphologically distinct from Pediculosis humanis capitis
ddx?
Psocid lice
3 ddx for Pediculosis Capitis that cause pruritic scalp but are morphologically distinctive skin disorders
- Psoriasis
- lichen planopilaris
- folliculitis
transmission and lifespan of pediculosis capitis
- Transmission is by close contact
- Direct head-to-head contact and fomites (eg, on clothes, brushes, linens, combs, hats, etc) - Lice live approximately 30 days on the host and <1 day off the host only a few hours.
- Eggs (nits) hatch within 7-10 days
- Maculae ceruleae or purpuric stains on the skin of the occipital scalp and nape of neck
- Occipital lymph nodes may swell as a result of secondary infection
- Microscopy will reveal an oblong structure attached to the hair at an acute angle with a lobular breathing apparatus at its superior end
dx?
Pediculosis Capitis
diagnostic pearls of Pediculosis Capitis
- Pyodermas in scalp along with occipital and cervical LAD suggest possible pediculosis infestation
- Nits are oval, tenacious hair concretions
- nits are not easily removed from the hair
- Hair casts, seen in other scalp disorders, move freely on the shaft Nits fluoresce and are readily detected with a Wood’s lamp
Infection with bacteria causing pus under the skin
term?
Pyodermas
best tests for pediculosis capitis
- Demonstration of lice or nits on hair visually or under microscope
- Wood’s lamp demonstrates fluorescent nits
There is evidence of increasing resistance of lice to treatment with ____
permethrin
what may be used as an adjuvant to topical therapy fir pediculosis capitis
Manual nit removal with a fine comb
Standard Precautions for pediculosis capitis
Isolate patient, wear gloves and a gown, limit patient transport, and avoid sharing patient-care equipment
Pediculosis capitis Rx should be reserved for patients with ?
proven infestations that do not respond to proper application of OTC pediculicides
for pediculosis capitis, do not treat a child unless ?
live lice or eggs (not just empty nit cases) are present
OTC options for pediculosis capitis
- Permethrin 1% (Nix): Apply to dry hair, and rinse after 10 minutes Repeat in 1-2 weeks
- Pyrethrins with piperonyl butoxide (RID, Pronto): Apply to dry hair, and rinse after 10 minutes Repeat in 1-2 weeks.
other 5 tx options for pediculosis capitis
Spinosad - adults and children older than 4 years
Malathion 0.5% lotion (Ovide)
Permethrin 5% (Elimite) (off-label use)
Ivermectin-formulated lotion (Sklice Lotion)
Oral ivermectin (off-label) - Not indicated in children < 5 yrs or wt < 15 kg.
Combing of the hair is not necessary, as this agent is ovicidal = first-line lice treatment by the American Academy of Pediatrics
which medication?
Spinosad
tx for pediculosis capitis on eyelid?
petrolatum BID to eyelid margins x 8 days
pediculosis corporis is Rarely found on the skin, as they live in and lay eggs on ?
clothing
- Extremely pruritic, especially at night when the lice move from the clothing to the body to feed
- The bites leave behind macules and papules concentrated in the intertriginous regions
Pediculosis Corporis
Pediculosis Corporis affects which pt demographics?
- all countries and climates, may infest any age group
- no racial or sex predilection
- associated with poor hygiene, poverty, homelessness
- Multiple erythematous papules that correspond to the insect bites
- Found anywhere on the body but are most concentrated in areas covered by clothing: groin, axillae, trunk, and buttocks
- Maculae cerulea
- There may be excoriations and/or impetiginization
- Exam the clothes; may reveal nits, feces, blood stains, or the insects themselves
dx?
pediculosis corporis
blue-gray macules that are pathognomonic for a lice infestation, may be present
maculae cerulea
individuals that are infested for years may develop thickened and darkened skin after a long period of bites and scratching or rubbing
what is this called
“vagabond skin” (parasitic melanoderma)
best tests for pediculosis corporis
- Close examination of the patient’s clothing for lice, nits, and feces
- The finding of a live louse or a viable nit will confirm the diagnosis
- Wood’s lamp may be helpful fluoresce yellow-green
- They are frequently most concentrated at clothing seams.
- shake the clothing out over white paper and examine the debris that falls off = pieces of tape can be used to pick up the insects for examination
If clinical suspicion warrants, test for one of the three arthropod-borne diseases transmitted by P. humanus corporis:
- Typhus (Rickettsia prowazekii)
- Relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis)
- Trench fever (Bartonella quintana)
- The mainstay of treatment is eradicating the infestation.
standard precautions for pediculosis corporis
Isolate patient, wear gloves and a gown, limit patient transport, and avoid sharing patient-care equipment
how to treat clothing and fomites in pediculosis corporis
- All clothing and bed linens should be washed with hot water and dried using high heat
- Discard or avoid using heavily infested items for 2 weeks (seal in plastic bags)
- Iron the seams of furniture with a hot iron
- For heavy infestation 5% permethrin cream or lotion head-to-toe for 8-14 hours
- Highly contagious, sexually transmitted parasitic infestation with the pubic or crab louse, Phthirus pubis
- MC spread from person to person by close physical contact, but it may occasionally be spread via fomites such as clothing or linens
- Household pets do not play a role in transmission
dx?
Pediculosis Pubis
- MC in sexually active individuals
- lives on terminal hair, typically in the pubic and perianal regions, although infestations may also be noted in the eyelashes (pediculosis palpebrarum), eyebrows, and other facial hair, as well as chest and axillary hair
- Scalp infestation may also be seen in tightly curled hair
- The lice are not adapted for crawling
dx?
Pediculosis Pubis
a fibrous substance consisting of polysaccharides and forming a major constituent in the exoskeleton of arthropods.
Chitin
in pediculosis pubis, The ___ are cemented to hair shafts with ____ and are difficult to remove
eggs (nits)
chitin
Pediculosis Pubis is extremely pruritis
it is thought to be secondary to ?
a reaction to the saliva and/or the anticoagulant injected into the skin by the louse during feeding
on dermoscopy you see legs grasping the hair shaft and insertion of mouth parts into the skin
dx?
Pediculosis Pubis
- Nits = brown and full in shape, indicating the presence of a nymph, or they are translucent and more flat in shape when empty
- They may be mistaken for crusts or hair casts when attached near the ostia of hair follicles
other clinical signs of pediculosis pubis
- Erythematous macules or papules present at feeding sites
- Wheals can be appreciated as an acute reaction
- Small pinpoint bleeding on intimate clothing
- +/- Inguinal lymph node swelling
- +/- Maculae ceruleae, or blue-gray macules seen at feeding sites on patients with long-standing infestation