Percutaneous absorption of DDT from a parasiticide used for treatment of scabies.

Moderately to markedly increased plasma concentrations of DDT and its major metabolite DDE were found in 3 boys 4, 7 and 9 years of age and also in a 50-year-old woman who, because of suspected or proven scabies infection, had all repeatedly received between 7 and 200 applications of Tenutex (a DDT-containing scabicide) during recent years. Normal values were found in 4 untreated children and in 2 children who had been treated with Tenutex four and three times respectively. In 9 adults there was no significant increase in the plasma concentrations of DDT and DDE after a single 24-hour treatment with Tenutex. These results indicate that DDT, a known constituent of the scabicide Tenutex, can be percutaneously absorbed and lead to measurably increased plasma concentrations after repeated application, especially in children.