Clinical study of treatment and immunodiagnosis in patients with clonorchiasis
Chen, C.Y.
Journal of the Formosan Medical Association 87(12): 1170-1176
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0371-7682 PMID: 3252002 Document Number: 316990
Three hundred and one patients aged 14-69 years, infected with Clonorchis sinensis, were treated with praziquantel during the period 1979-1988. 89% of the patients came from the endemic Miao-Li county of Taiwan; all had a history of eating raw freshwater fish. The infection was light in 45.5%, moderate in 45.8% and heavy in 8.7%. Group I (83 patients) received a single dose of 40 mg/kg bwt, group II (161) received a one-day treatment of 75 mg/kg divided into 3 doses, and group III (55) received 2 daily doses of 75 mg/kg. The cure rates at 2 and 6 months after treatment were similar and ranged from 91.4 to 100%. At 6 months, all group III patients were cured but the cure rate for group I patients was 97.7% for light and 71.4% for moderate infections. Generally, side-effects were mild and transient but increased with increasing dosage. The sensitivity of ELISA was 86.8%. The time for antibody titres to return to normal in 50% of patients was 6 months for light infections, 9 months for moderate infections and up to 24 months for heavy infections.