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Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
10:57

Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children

Published on: August 22, 2012

Single-dose therapy for giardiasis in school-age children

Krisana Pengsaa1, Kriengsak Limkittikul, Chanathep Pojjaroen-anant

  • 1Department of Tropical Pediatrics, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. tmksp@mahidol.ac.th

The Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health
|May 22, 2003
PubMed

Insights

A combination of albendazole and praziquantel showed a high cure rate for giardiasis in children, comparable to tinidazole. This combined therapy may also treat co-existing helminth infections.

Area of Science:

  • * Infectious Diseases
  • * Pediatric Parasitology
  • * Clinical Pharmacology

Background:

  • * Giardiasis is a common intestinal infection in school-age children.
  • * Effective and safe treatment options are crucial for managing giardiasis and preventing its spread.
  • * Investigating novel therapeutic combinations can improve treatment outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To evaluate the efficacy of a combined albendazole and praziquantel regimen for treating giardiasis in children.
  • * To compare this combination therapy with single-agent albendazole and tinidazole treatments.

Main Methods:

  • * A randomized controlled trial involving 84 school-age children with giardiasis.
  • * Three treatment groups: albendazole-praziquantel combination, albendazole alone, and tinidazole alone.
  • * Cure was defined as the absence of Giardia in two consecutive stool samples.

Main Results:

  • * The albendazole-praziquantel combination achieved a parasitological cure rate of 74.2%.
  • * Tinidazole showed the highest cure rate (92.6%), followed by the combination therapy.
  • * Albendazole monotherapy had a cure rate of 50%. No significant difference was found between the combination and tinidazole groups.

Conclusions:

  • * The combined albendazole-praziquantel regimen is a safe and potentially effective alternative for treating giardiasis in children.
  • * This combination offers the advantage of treating concurrent helminth infections.
  • * Further studies are needed to optimize the dosage of the combination therapy for Giardia intestinalis.

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