Assessment of the antihelminthic activity of albendazole in human strongyloidiasis

Abstract

A new antihelminthic agent, albendazole, was used in the treatment of 32 patients with strongyloidiasis. This trial included male and female adults, who were given 400 mg daily, as a single oral dose, for three days. The cure rates were assessed by stool examination performed according to the Rugai, Mattos and Brisola technique, with samples obtained seven, 14 and 21 days after the final dose of the drug. A mean cure rate of 28.1% was achieved, showing that though the drug was quite well tolerated by the recipients and that its role in the therapy of other intestinal helminthic infections had been established in previous investigations, its efficacy in the treatment of infections with Strongyloides stercoralis must be considered low.