Unilateral Phthiriasis Palpebrarum Infestation: A Rare Presentation
Abstract
Introduction: Phthiriasis palpebrarum is an uncommon eyelid infestation mainly caused by Phthirus pubis
also known as crab lice. Case report: A 16 years male presented with redness, itching and watering of the
right eye for one week. On slit-lamp biomicroscopic examination lice and nits anchored to the eyelashes
along with seborrheic material accumulation was noted. Lice, partial nits along with matted eyelashes were
removed and sent to laboratory for microscopic examination. On follow up visit remaining nits were expunged.
Conclusion: Meticulous slit lamp biomicroscopic examination should be done in all patients presenting with
itching of the eyelids in conjunction with clinical findings resembling seborrhea and evidence for Phthiriasis
palpebrarum should be looked for.
Downloads
References
Anane S, Malek I, Kamoun R, Chtourou O. Phthiriasis palpebrarum: diagnosis and treatment. J Fr Ophthalmol. 2013;36(10);815-9. PMID: 24157356. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfo.2013.03.018
Ryan MF. Phthiriasis palpebrarum infection: A concern for child abuse. J Emerg Med. 2014;46(6):e15962. PMID: 24556565. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.11.090
Yi JW, Li L, Luo da W. Phthiriasis palpebrarum misdiagnosed as allergic blepharoconjunctivitis in a 6-year-old girl. Niger J Clin Pract. 2014;17(4):537-9. PMID: 24909484. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/1119-3077.134063
Lacarrubba F, Micali G: The not-so-naked eye: Phthiriasis palpebrarum. The American Journal of Medicine. 2013;126(11):960-1. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.08.002
Charfi F, Ben Zina Z, Maazoun M, Kharrat W, Sellami D, Makni F, et al. [Phthiriasis pubis palpebrarum in children. Diagnosis and treatment]. J Fr Ophtalmol. 2005;28 (7):765-8. PMID: 16208228. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0181-5512(05)80990-8
Dohvoma VA, Ebana Mvogo SR, Atangana PJA, Nyasse P, Epee E, Ebana Mvogo C. Phthirus pubis Infestation of the Eyelids Presenting as Chronic Blepharoconjunctivitis in a 6-Year-Old Girl: A Case Report. Case Rep Ophthalmol. 2018;9(1):30-34. PMID: 29643778. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000485738
Le Guyader F, Charpentier P. [Phthiriasis palpebrarum in a 52-year-old woman]. J Fr Ophtalmol. 2018;41(2):196- 198. PMID: 29426762. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfo.2017.08.005
Gupta M, Gupta A. Phthiriasis palpebrarum masquerading as seborrheic blepharitis. Australas Jtol. 2016;57(4):e139-e140. PMID: 29896824. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajd.12378
Padhi TR, Das S, Sharma S, Rath S, Rath S, Tripathy D, et al. Ocular Parasitoses: A Comprehensive Review. Surv Ophthalmol. 2017;62(2):161-89. PMID: 27720858. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.survophthal.2016.09.005
Karabela Y, Yardimci G, Yildirim I, Atalay E, Kerabela SN. Treatment of Phthiriasis Palpebrarum and crab louse: Petrolatum jelly and 1% Permethrin shampoo. Case Reports in Medicine. 2015;2015:Article ID 287906. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/287906
Sundu C, Dinç E, Kurtuluş UC, Yıldırım Ö. Common blepharitis related to Phthiriasis Palpebrarum: Argon laser phototherapy. Turkiye Parazitol Derg. 2015;39(3):252-4. PMID: 26470938. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5152/tpd.2015.3861
Elston DM. Drugs used in the treatment of pediculosis. J Drugs Dermatol. 2005;4(2):207-11. PMID: 15776778

Copyright (c) 2020 Vinit Kumar Kamble

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- The Journal of Lumbini Medical College (JLMC) publishes open access articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) License which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- JLMC requires an exclusive licence to publish the article first in its journal in print and online.
- The corresponding author should read and agree to the following statement before submission of the manuscript for publication,
- License agreement
- In submitting an article to Journal of Lumbini Medical College (JLMC) I certify that:
- I am authorized by my co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- I warrant, on behalf of myself and my co-authors, that:
- the article is original, has not been formally published in any other peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration by any other journal and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights;
- I am/we are the sole author(s) of the article and have full authority to enter into this agreement and in granting rights to JLMC are not in breach of any other obligation;
- the article contains nothing that is unlawful, libellous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract or of confidence or of commitment given to secrecy;
- I/we have taken due care to ensure the integrity of the article. To my/our - and currently accepted scientific - knowledge all statements contained in it purporting to be facts are true and any formula or instruction contained in the article will not, if followed accurately, cause any injury, illness or damage to the user.
- I, and all co-authors, agree that the article, if editorially accepted for publication, shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. If the law requires that the article be published in the public domain, I/we will notify JLMC at the time of submission, and in such cases the article shall be released under the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver. For the avoidance of doubt it is stated that sections 1 and 2 of this license agreement shall apply and prevail regardless of whether the article is published under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 or the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver.
- I, and all co-authors, agree that, if the article is editorially accepted for publication in JLMC, data included in the article shall be made available under the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver, unless otherwise stated. For the avoidance of doubt it is stated that sections 1, 2, and 3 of this license agreement shall apply and prevail.
Please visit Creative Commons web page for details of the terms.