Therapeutic Efficacy, Secondary Effects, and Patient Acceptability of 10% Sulfur in Either Pork Fat or Cold Cream for the Treatment of Scabies

Abstract

Twenty-six children with scabies and 32 contacts were treated with 10% sulfur in cold cream. A 100% clinical cure rate was observed, although 56.8% of patients experienced some kind of mild, transient cutaneous reaction. An additional 25 children with scabies and 28 contacts were treated with 10% sulfur and 1% salicylic acid in pork fat. Of these, 88% were clinically cured and 73.5% had some cutaneous adverse effects. In both groups, most adverse effects were related to skin dryness or postscabetic reaction. The cold cream base was more acceptable to patients than the pork fat base. However, the pork fat base was significantly cheaper and easier to obtain than the cold cream base, and 238 times less expensive than the cheapest commercial scabicidal medication available in the United States.