[Clinical study of the efficacy of albendazole treatment in human hydatidosis]

A follow-up study of Albendazol effectiveness therapy in human hydatid diseases was carry out using WHO methodology. Albendazole was given at a dose of 10 mg/Kg body/day in cycles of 28 days separated by 14 days without treatment. The efficacy of chemotherapy was evaluated by clinical improvement and changes in the cyst's morphology (detachment and collapse of the cyst membrane and increased density of the cyst fluid). We performed this study in 134 patients with hydatidosis: 17 patients with pre and post surgery treatment, 50 patients with post surgery treatment and 67 patients with chemotherapy only. Albendazole was effective in the hydatid disease; the patients with complex chemotherapy treatment did not report any secondary hydatidosis during the follow-up period (max. 2 years); the patients with exclusive chemotherapy reported 79% successful response, only 21% of them remained with unchanged cyst's size, but with modified internal structure. The therapeutic response depends of the cyst's size and its visceral site.