ArticleThe Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale2011
Detection of scabies: A systematic review of diagnostic methods.
Article in The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 108 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global prevalence and predictors of scabies among prisoners: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Control of scabies in a tribal community using mass screening and treatment with oral ivermectin -A cluster randomized controlled trial in Gadchiroli, India.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Trial
- Ultraviolet-induced fluorescence dermoscopy in the diagnosis of scabies: The "ball sign".JAAD case reports · 2026Article
- Digital Dermatopathology of Scabies: HE-Compatible VIS-NIR Hyperspectral Imaging as a Label-Free Proof-of-Concept Approach.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring Fourier-Transform Infrared Microscopy for Scabies Mite Detection in Human Tissue Sections: A Preliminary Technical Feasibility Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Identification of scabies by handheld microscopy.Oxford medical case reports · 2025Article
- The Incidence of Scabies in Far North Queensland, Tropical Australia: Implications for Local Clinical Practice and Public Health Strategies.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Assessing the Accuracy of Dermoscopy for Scabies Diagnosis in Dark African Skin.Dermatology practical & conceptual · 2025Article
- Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of scabies in Korea: Part 1. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis - a secondary publication.Ewha medical journal · 2024Article
- Norwegian scabies in human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis-infected child: A case report.Narra J · 2024Article
- Burden of scabies in a Ghanaian penitentiary.PloS one · 2024Article
- Dermoscopic and reflectance confocal microscopic features of children scabies.Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI) · 2023Article
- Dermoscopic features of children scabies.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Facilitations in the Clinical Diagnosis of Human Scabies through the Use of Ultraviolet Light (UV-Scab Scanning): A Case-Series Study.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- The Burrow Ink Test: a Simple Method to Improve the Diagnosis of Scabies.Journal of general internal medicine · 2022Article
- Estimation of scabies prevalence using simplified criteria and mapping procedures in three Pacific and southeast Asian countries.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Diagnosing point-of-care diagnostics for neglected tropical diseases.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Review
- Molecular diagnosis of scabies using a novel probe-based polymerase chain reaction assay targeting high-copy number repetitive sequences in the Sarcoptes scabiei genome.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Paediatrics: how to manage scabies.Drugs in context · 2021Review
- The 2020 International Alliance for the Control of Scabies Consensus Criteria for the Diagnosis of Scabies.The British journal of dermatology · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAccurate diagnosis of scabies infection is important for patient treatment and for public health control of scabies epidemics.
objectiveTo systematically review the accuracy and precision of history, physical examination and tests for diagnosing scabies.
methodsUsing a structured search strategy, Medline and Embase databases were searched for English and French language articles that included a diagnosis of scabies. Studies comparing history, physical examination and/or any diagnostic tests with the reference standard of microscopic visualization of mites, eggs or fecal elements obtained from skin scrapings or biopsies were included for analysis. Data were extracted using standard criteria.
resultsHistory and examination of pruritic dermatoses failed to accurately diagnose scabies infection. Dermatoscopy by a trained practitioner has a positive likelihood ratio of 6.5 (95% CI 4.1 to 10.3) and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.1 (95% CI 0.06 to 0.2) for diagnosing scabies. The accuracy of other diagnostic tests could not be calculated from the data in the literature.
conclusionsIn the face of such diagnostic inaccuracy, clinical judgment is still practical in diagnosing scabies. Two tests are used - the burrow ink test and handheld dermatoscopy. The burrow ink test is a simple, rapid, noninvasive test that can be used to screen a large number of patients. Handheld dermatoscopy is an accurate test, but requires special equipment and trained practitioners. Given the morbidity and costs of scabies infection, and that studies to date lack adequate internal and external validity, research to identify or develop accurate diagnostic tests for scabies infection is needed and justifiable.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.