Comparative trial of permethrin 5% versus lindane 1% for the treatment of scabies

Objective: Treatment of scabies is an important issue in infectious dermatology. The aim of this study was to specify whether permethrin is effective for the treatment of human scabies and to compare its effectiveness with that of 1% lindane by topical application. Methods: 220 patients with scabies with the mean age of 44 ± 12/24 attended the study. Patients were divided into two groups randomly. The first group and their family contacts received 5% permethrin cream and the other received 1% lindane lotion. Treatment was evaluated at intervals of 2 and 4 weeks. Results: Of 254 patients, 220 completed the study. 110 in the group treated with lindane and 110 in the group treated with permethrin. Permethrin provided an improvement rate of 92 (83.6%) after 2 weeks, whereas lindane was effective only in 54 (49%) of patients. After 4 weeks improvement rate was 96.3% (106 of 110) in permethrin group since it was only 69.1% (76 of 110) in lindane group. Conclusion: Permethrin (5%) cream was found to be significantly more effective in the treatment of scabies in comparison with lindane in this study. There were no adverse effects with either permethrin or lindane.