Praziquantel for the treatment of schistosomiasis mansoni during pregnancy

Abstract

In a prospective study carried out in New Halfa Teaching Hospital, in eastern Sudan, between June 2001 and April 2003, 25 pregnant Sudanese women with schistosomiasis mansoni were each treated with a single oral dose of praziquantel (PZQ), at 40 mg/kg. The drug was given to six (24%), 12 (48%) and seven (28%) of the women during the first, second and third trimesters of their pregnancies, respectively. The patients were followed-up until delivery and their babies were followed-up until they were 1 year old. Although one patient, who received PZQ after 10 weeks of gestation, aborted (3 weeks post-treatment), this frequency of abortion is similar to that seen in the local community. None of the treated women died, and there were no stillbirths or congenital abnormalities in the newborn babies. Although this is a small trial, it appears that PZQ is a safe drug to use against schistosomiasis mansoni, even during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Efficacy of praziquantel and artemisinin derivatives for the treatment and prevention of human schistosomiasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The incidence rates of heavy side-effects were between 0.47% and 1.54% [79]. Thus PZQ has been a safe and effective antischistosomal drug with a broad applicability for all species of schistosome [35,80]. …”

Schistosoma mansoni infection among prenatal attendees at a secondary‐care hospital in central Sudan

“…Women with schistosomiasis or infection with other helminth species were treated with praziquantel 40 mg/kg or albendazole 440 mg, respectively. The safety of these drugs during pregnancy was established previously [16].…”

“…Although data on the epidemiology of schistosomiasis during pregnancy are available for other African countries [10,13,14], no published data exist for Sudan. The present study was carried out as part of the surveys conducted by the Sudan Ministry of Health and the University of Khartoum to provide data necessary for required interventions and to add to previous research on schistosomiasis among pregnant women [15,16].…”

Praziquantel Treatment in Trematode and Cestode Infections: An Update

“…A desensitization procedure was performed in a patient with paragonimiasis using small to increasing doses (30, 60, 100, 150, 300, 600, and 1,200 mg) of praziquantel at 90 min intervals, and the patient was then successfully treated with the standard dose of praziquantel (75 mg/kg daily for 3 consecutive days) [7]. In pregnant women, praziquantel treatment at a single dose of 40 mg/kg was found effective and safe for treatment of S. mansoni infection [80, 81]. …”