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Rev. Inst. Med. Trop. Sao Paulo · Mar 2008
Self-diagnosis of active head lice infestation by individuals from an impoverished community: high sensitivity and specificity.
- Daniel Pilger, Adak Khakban, Jorg Heukelbach, and Hermann Feldmeier.
- Institute for Microbiology and Hygiene, Campus Benjamin Franklin, University of Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
- Rev. Inst. Med. Trop. Sao Paulo. 2008 Mar 1; 50 (2): 121-2.
AbstractTo compare sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of self-diagnosis for head lice infestation with visual inspection, we conducted a study in an urban slum in Brazil. Individuals were asked about active head lice infestation (self-diagnosis); we performed visual inspection and thereafter wet combing (gold standard). Of the 175 individuals included, 77 (44%) had an active head lice infestation. For self-diagnosis, sensitivity (80.5%), specificity (91.8%), PPV (88.6%) and NPV (85.7%) were high. Sensitivity of visual inspection was 35.1%. Public health professionals can use self-diagnosis as a diagnostic tool, to estimate accurately prevalence of pediculosis in a community, and to monitor ongoing intervention strategies.
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