title: Dose-finding study for praziquantel therapy of Schistosoma haematobium in Coast Province, Kenya.
abstract: To assess the efficacy of low dose praziquantel regimens in comparison with standard 40 mg/kg dosing in the treatment of urinary schistosomiasis, a random allocation dose-finding trial was performed in children and adults from a Schistosoma haematobium endemic region in Coast Province, Kenya. Following an initial screening, 280 individuals with greater than or equal to 50 eggs/10 ml urine were randomly assigned to receive either 10, 20, 30, or 40 mg/kg of the drug in a single oral dose. Two to three months later, cure rates of 26%, 68%, 78%, and 84% were found for the 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg doses, respectively. The results of 10 mg/kg oral dosing were significantly worse than for all other doses in terms of cure rate and of post-treatment prevalence of morbidity. The 40 mg/kg dosing resulted in a significantly higher cure rate than the 20 mg/kg doses; nevertheless, there was no significant difference between 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg doses in terms of mean post-treatment intensity of infection or post-treatment prevalence of hematuria or proteinuria. For large-scale control programs, oral 20 mg/kg praziquantel therapy for urinary schistosomiasis may prove as effective as the standard oral 40 mg/kg dosing for control of infection-associated morbidity and reduction of parasite transmission.
authors.affiliation: Case Western Reserve University, Ohio.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wiper
authors.forename: K V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: De Stigter
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koech
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ouma
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Arap Siongok
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mahmoud
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006417:Hematuria / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000209:etiology; D011897:Random Allocation; D012553:Schistosomiasis haematobia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D011223:Praziquantel