We studied the effect of Trichuris trichiura on growth in a randomized, double-blind trial in which 508 Mexican children (2 to 10 years) with asymptomatic infections were randomized to one of 3 medication regimes that were selected to differ in efficacy against Trichuris: a single II mg/kg dose of pyrantel pamoate (low efficacy), a single 400 mg dose of albendazole (moderate efficacy) and 3 daily 400 mg doses of albendazole (high efficacy). All three treatment regimes are effective against a range of parasites, and conventional wisdom at the start of the trial was that asymptomatic Trichuris infection is harmless and has no effect on growth. The hypothesis was that children treated with 3 doses of albendazole grow better than children treated with a single dose of albendazole who, in turn, grow better than children treated with pyrantel pamoate. The children were measured and treated at baseline and every 4 months over 12 months. In spite of the differential efficacy of the 3 treatments against Trichuris, there were no differences in overall increment in height, weight, and arm circumference between the three treatment groups. However, the children who received the 3 daily 400 mg regime of albendazole had a significantly lower increment in triceps skinfold thickness than those who received pyrantel pamoate. The children who had higher intensities of Trichuris at baseline and who received the single 400 mg albendazole regime grew more in height than children in the same treatment group with lower initial levels of infection. The increment in weight, arm circumference, and triceps skinfold thickness was also a positive function of the initial intensity of Trichuris infection in the children who received 3 daily 400 mg doses of albendazole. This study provides evidence that low, asymptomatic levels of Trichuris can impair growth, and suggests that either albendazole or pyrantel pamoate or both may have an effect on the growth of children, independent of a therapeuti
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.42031 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Forrester, Janet Elizabeth. |
| Contributors | Bailar, John C., III (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001548756, proquestno: NQ29936, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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