eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Infectious Diseases

Pediculosis: Differential Diagnoses & Workup

Author: Nelly Rubeiz, MD, Consulting Staff, Department of Dermatology, American University of Beirut Medical Center; Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Coauthor(s): Abdul-Ghani Kibbi, MD, Chairman and Professor, Department of Dermatology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: May 5, 2009

Differential Diagnoses

Abortion, Inevitable

Other Problems to Be Considered

Dandruff
Hair casts
Piedra

Workup

Laboratory Studies

Other Tests

  • For the diagnosis of P capitis, the use of a louse comb is more efficient than direct visual examination of the scalp. Nits that are within 6 mm from the scalp are usually viable and are opalescent, whereas eggs that have hatched are white. Examine nits and lice under the microscope.
  • Slit-lamp examination may reveal pubic lice on eyelashes and eyebrows.
  • Live nits are fluorescent white when illuminated with a Wood lamp; empty nits are fluorescent gray.

More on Pediculosis

Overview: Pediculosis
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pediculosis
Treatment & Medication: Pediculosis
Follow-up: Pediculosis
Multimedia: Pediculosis
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

pediculosis, lice, lice infestation, Pediculus humanus capitis, head louse, head lice, Pediculus humanus corporis, body louse, body lice, Pthirus pubis, pubic louse, pubic lice, lice eggs, nits, typhus, trench fever, relapsing fever, cervical lymphadenopathy, conjunctivitis, human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, genital herpes, trichomonas

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Nelly Rubeiz, MD, Consulting Staff, Department of Dermatology, American University of Beirut Medical Center; Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Nelly Rubeiz, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha and American Academy of Dermatology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Abdul-Ghani Kibbi, MD, Chairman and Professor, Department of Dermatology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon
Disclosure: none None None

Medical Editor

David A Peak, MD, Assistant Residency Director of Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency, Attending Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital; Consulting Staff, Department of Hyperbaric Medicine, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
David A Peak, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Jeter (Jay) Pritchard Taylor III, MD, Compliance Officer, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine Residency, Department of Emergency Medicine, Palmetto Health Richland, University of South Carolina; Medical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Palmetto Health Baptist
Jeter (Jay) Pritchard Taylor III, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Pamela L Dyne, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine/Emergency Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
Pamela L Dyne, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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