Recommendation for a Simple, Office–Friendly, Standardized Testing for Head Lice

Abstract

Given the number of anecdotal and market-driven reported studies on head lice and also the growing resistance to many present insecticides, standardized, inexpensive testing of topical lice therapies should be formalized. Such tests could then be performed by all individuals interested in epidemiology and treatment outcomes with this disease. A simple in vitro office test that requires no high tech services or expensive equipment is presented which has been already helpful to document effectiveness or recalcitrance to specific therapies. In the protocol, head lice are exposed to insecticides for similar durations and concentrations as the product dictates; thus, exposure imitates routine clinical usage of the specific product tested. The results of such testing mirrors actual treatment results much better than elaborate pediculicidal tests performed at certain laboratories.