Comparison of therapeutic and anti-inflammatory effects of topical triamcinolon with placebo in the treatment of paederus dermatitis in guinea pig

Dermatitis caused by paederous insect is considered a public health problem in many parts of the northern, and some of the southern areas of Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of topical triamcinolone on the treatment of linear dermatitis in animal model.

20 male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) were divided into treatment and control groups (N=10). Animals had free access to food and water and were kept at 25ºC and 50% humidity. Paederus beetles caught from the city of Neka, transferred to the School of Public Health in Tehran. Guinea pigs developed linear dermatitis on contact with peaderus beetles. Triamcinolone ointment (0.1%) was applied on the skin of the pigs for 14 days after shaving their hair. The recovery rate was assessed on the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh and fourteenth days after drug administration in the treatment and control groups. The control group used placebo without alcohol base.

The mean weight of the guinea pigs was 700±10 gr. At the end of the ninth day all the guinea pigs in the treatment group improved while 10% of the guinea pigs in the control group showed improvement (P>0.05). There were no serious medical complications during and one month after the treatment course.

This study showed that triamcinolone had significant beneficial effects on the treatment of linear paederus dermatitis in animal models and it can be considered as an effective drug for the treatment of this dermatitis in human models in the future studies.