Authors: Ifo Faujiah Sihite, Muhammad Ali, Ayodhia P. Pasaribu, Syahril Pasaribu
Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends four, single-dose drugs (albendazole, levamisole, mebendazole, and pyrantel pamoate) for management of soilÂtransmitted helminthiasis (STH). Previous studies have shown varied and inconsistent outcomes of these STH treatments.
Objective: To compare the efficacy of mebendazole and levamiÂsole, alone or in combination, for the treatment of STH.
Methods: An open randomized controlled trial was conducted in Secanggang, North Sumatera from August to October 2009. School-aged children with STH infection were randomized into three groups. Group I received a single dose of mebendazole (500 mg); group II received a single dose of levamisole (2.5 mg/kg); and group III received a single dose of mebendazole-levamisole combined. Stool samples were collected at baseline, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weeks after treatment and examined by the Kato-Katz technique. Statistical analyses were Kruskal-Wallis test for cure rate and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test for egg reduction rate.
Results: STH was diagnosed in 197 children with the following parasite species: Ascariasis (96 children, 48.7%), Trichuriasis (58 children, 29.4%), and mixed infection (43 children, 21.8%). We found no hookworm infection in any of our subjects. Groups I and III had significantly higher efficacy (P=0.0001) against STH (egg reduction rate 99.3% and 99.9%; cure rate 92.2% and 98.4%, respectively) at 4th week of treatment.
Conclusion: A single dose of mebendazole alone and combined with levamisole have better efficacy compared to a single dose of levamisole for the treatment of STH. The highest efficacy of these treatments is noted at the 4th week after drug administration
Keywords: soil-transmitted hel minth, mebendazole, levamisole, combination
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14238/pi54.1.2014.9-14
Published: 28 February 2014