title: Growth reduction among primary schoolchildren with light trichuriasis in Malaysia treated with albendazole.
abstract: We studied asymptomatic primary schoolchildren in northeastern Malaysia with light to moderate trichuriasis to determine the effect of albendazole treatment on growth rates and TNF-alpha levels. Thirty-seven schoolchildren aged 6-7 years with stool samples positive for Trichuris trichiura and negative for other geohelminths and protozoa were randomized to receive albendazole 400 mg or a placebo daily for 2 days. Anthropometric parameters at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months were compared between the 2 groups. The placebo group had a significantly greater increase in height (p = 0.04) than the albendazole treatment group. There were no significant differences in urinary TNF-alpha levels (p = 0.8) between the 2 groups and no significant changes between baseline and 1 month post-treatment levels. Further studies are needed to determine the etiology of this apparent association between the albendazole treatment group and the delay in growth rate at 6 months post-treatment.
authors.affiliation: Perdana Specialist Hospital, Kota Bahru, Kelantan, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Meng Hun
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tee
authors.forename: Yeong Yeh
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Noorizan Abdul
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Majid
authors.forename: Nazmi Mohamed
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Noori
authors.forename: Sundramoorthy Mahendra
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Raj
mesh_terms: D015766:Albendazole / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014257:Trichuriasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D014258:Trichuris / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D015766:Albendazole