title: Comparative efficacy of a single 400 mg dose of albendazole or mebendazole in the treatment of nematode infections in children.
abstract: The relative efficacy of a single 400 mg dose of albendazole or mebendazole in the treatment of nematode infections was assessed in 2- to 9-year-old children living in two different Bolivian rural communities. Both agents were equally very effective (100% cure rate) in treating ascariasis. Albendazole was clearly more active than mebendazole against hookworm infections, both in terms of egg reduction rate (92.8% vs. 62.4%) and cure rate (81.8% vs. 17.2%). As far as trichuriasis is concerned, albendazole produced a higher egg reduction rate than mebendazole (45.7% vs 15%), but a lower cure rate (33.3% vs 60%). Both drugs were well tolerated.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Malattie Infettive, Università di Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartoloni
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guglielmetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cancrini
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gamboa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roselli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paradisi
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D015766:Albendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001196:Ascariasis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D017164:Ascaris lumbricoides; D001838:Bolivia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006725:Hookworm Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D008463:Mebendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014257:Trichuriasis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D008463:Mebendazole; D015766:Albendazole