Use of liquid nitrogen and albendazole in successfully treating cutaneous larva migrans.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of combination treatment of Albendazole along with liquid nitrogen in cutaneous larva migrans. STUDY DESIGN: Quasi-experimental study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and The Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi, from December 2008 to December 2010. METHODOLOGY: Eighteen cases of cutaneous larva migrans were collected and divided into two groups. Group-A was administered oral Albendazole 400 mg once per day along with topical steroid and oral cetrizine 10 mg once at night for 7 days. Group-B also received oral Albendazole 400 mg once per day along with cetrizine 10 mg once at night but they also received single application of liquid nitrogen to freeze the larva. RESULTS: It was found that in Group-A only 2 out of 9 (22%) showed improvement whereas 78% had to be given liquid nitrogen cryotherapy 3 - 7 days after Albendazole to prevent migration of larva. In Group-B, the improvement was 100% and all 9 patients were successfully treated. CONCLUSION: Use of liquid nitrogen along with oral anti-helminths is very effective in treating cutaneous larva migrans than Albendazole alone.