Journal
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
Volume 106, Issue 7, Pages 400-407Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2012.03.013
Keywords
Child health; Schistosoma mansoni; Control programmes; Mass drug administration; Neglected tropical diseases; Preventive chemotherapy
Funding
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Schistosomiasis Control Initiative
- Imperial College London
- National History Museum
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
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Preschool children (aged <= 5 years) have so far been overlooked by mass treatment campaigns targeting schistosomiasis, even though praziquantel (PZQ) has been shown to be well tolerated and effective within this age group. The WHO provided the Ugandan Ministry of Health with a syrup formulation of PZQ with the aim of assessing its safety and efficacy in comparison with crushed PZQ tablets for the treatment of intestinal schistosomiasis in preschool children. This study included 1144 preschool children randomly assigned to two treatment arms (PZQ syrup or crushed PZQ tablet) regardless of infection status for direct comparison. Diagnosis of intestinal schistosomiasis was assessed using single stool sample, double Kato-Katz smear examinations. Parasitological cure was assessed 3 weeks after treatment. The observed cure rate was 80.9% for the PZQ syrup arm and 81.7% for the crushed PZQ tablet arm, with egg reduction rates of 86.1% and 89.0%, respectively. Pre-treatment infection intensity was observed to influence cure rates significantly, with cure rates of 88.6% for light infections, 74.5% for moderate infections and 67.4% for heavy infections. No significant difference was found in non-compliance between the PZQ syrup (11.1%) and crushed PZQ tablet (14.7%) arms. PZQ syrup and crushed PZQ tablets have very similar efficacies in the treatment of intestinal schistosomiasis in preschool children. (C) 2012 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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