Introduction:
Scabies is a skin disease that presents a variety of symptoms. Untreated scabies can lead to significant complications and negatively impact the affected quality of patient life. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics of scabies and assess the efficacy of various treatment therapies.
Materials and Methods:
The study was conducted in Hanoi and Lai Chau with 65 patients who had been diagnosed with scabies from September 2023 to June 2024. Patients underwent examination, categorization, and treatment with diethyl phthalate (DEP) topical and a 5% permethrin spray. The patient’s treatment outcomes were assessed following a period of 4 weeks.
Results:
The proportion of patients diagnosed with scabies was 65 (0.8%) out of 8110 people suffering from dermatological illnesses. Scabies afflicted males and females in a 2:1 ratio, with the majority of cases (60%) in the 20–49 age range and 4.6% among those under 10 years old. Moderate and mild cases were found in 40% and 47.7% of patients, respectively, with only 12.3% being severe cases. Scabies lesions were most usually detected in the interdigital spaces and on the palms (95.4%), the belly and around the waist (75.4%), external genitalia (72.3%), and the pubic area with interdigital spaces (66.2%); other afflicted locations varied from 1.5% to 30.8%. All lesions were vesicular, with 40% exhibiting scaliness, and other lesion types ranged from 4.6% to 9.2%. 96.9% of patients experienced moderate to severe itching, with 81.5% experiencing it at night. The treatment results revealed a 47.7% clinical improvement when treated with DEP, compared to 79.8% with permethrin 5%. There were no negative effects from any scabies drugs.
Conclusions:
Scabies affects around 0.8% of the population in Northern Vietnam, a common dermatological disease that causes lesions to form as blisters on the hands and between the fingers, causing itching in those affected. Permethrin 5% is a more effective scabies therapy than DEP.
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