Inpharma 1544 - 1 Jul 2006

Routine albendazole increasesweight gain in Ugandan childrenRoutine treatment with albendazole increases weight

gain in children and infants in Uganda, according toresults from an open-label trial.

As part of child health services, 50 Ugandan parisheswere randomised to provide either standard servicesplus albendazole treatment (in which all healthy infantsand children aged 1–7 years who attended any childhealth day received one albendazole 400mg chewabletablet; n = 25 parishes), or standard services alone.Data were analysed from 27 995 children, 14 940 ofwhom were albendazole recipients.

Overall, mean time in the programme was16.6 months, with a mean of 2.7 visits to child healthdays. Albendazole-treated children had a significantlygreater weight gain, compared with children in thecontrol group; the between-group difference in meanweight gain was 154g. Twice yearly treatment withalbendazole was associated with a mean weight gain ofan extra 166g per child per year, or about 10% of theirmean initial weight, compared with children in thecontrol group. If the children received albendazoletreatment annually, their mean extra weight gain wasabout 5% of their initial weight.Alderman H, et al. Effect on weight gain of routinely giving albendazole topreschool children during child health days in Uganda: cluster randomisedcontrolled trial. BMJ 333: 122-124, No. 7559, 15 Jul 2006 801002880

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Inpharma 1 Jul 2006 No. 15441173-8324/10/1544-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved