ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2016
The Accuracy of Praziquantel Dose Poles for Mass Treatment of Schistosomiasis in School Girls in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01154907 (Prevention of HIV and Improved Diagnosis of Adolescent Genital Disease in Bilharzia Endemic KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), which is not on this map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Prevention of HIV and Improved Diagnosis of Adolescent Genital Disease in Bilharzia Endemic KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating the efficacy of the praziquantel dose pole for schistosomiasis treatment: A multi-country systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Pooled it
- Knowledge and management of female genital schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review protocol.Southern African journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Establishing and Integrating a Female Genital Schistosomiasis Control Programme into the Existing Health Care System.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Review
- Adverse drug effects among students following mass de-worming exercise involving administration of Praziquantel and Albendazole in KEEA Municipality, Ghana.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Schistosoma mansoni infection induces plasmablast and plasma cell death in the bone marrow and accelerates the decline of host vaccine responses.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Is praziquantel preventive chemotherapy associated with visual disorders in Eritrea? A comment on the case series reported by Debesai and Russom.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Praziquantel and risk of visual disorders: Case series assessment.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- An ultrasound-based referential of body height-adjusted normal liver organometry in school children from Bokito in rural Cameroon.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Adjustments of γδ T Cells in the Lung ofFrontiers in immunology · 2020Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiases among preschool aged children (1-5 years) in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a cross-sectional study.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2019Article
- Negative Association of Interleukin-33 Plasma Levels and Schistosomiasis Infection in a Site of Polyparasitism in Rural Cameroon.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Article
- Accuracy of the WHO praziquantel dose pole for large-scale community treatment of urogenital schistosomiasis in northern Mozambique: Is it time for an update?PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
- Development of the PraziCalc mobile device-app to calculate praziquantel dosage in the treatment of schistosomiasis.Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMore than 260 million people live with schistosomiasis and regular mass-treatment should be implemented to prevent morbidity. Praziquantel, dosed at 40 milligrams per kilogram bodyweight, is the drug of choice. During the last decades the WHO Tablet Pole-which estimates tablet need by height as representing weight-has been used as a practical and cheap tool in mass treatment. In South Africa this method could be inaccurate given the prevalence of overweight and obesity. In this study in female pupils in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, we explored the accuracy of the WHO Tablet Pole and the recently developed Modified Dose Pole for adults with two additional intervals and correction for body mass index (BMI). METHODOLOGY: In randomly selected primary and secondary schools of schistosomiasis-endemic areas, height and weight of female pupils were measured. The WHO Tablet Pole and Modified Dose Pole were used to indicate the amount of praziquantel according to height and the dose in milligrams per kilogram bodyweight was calculated. The BMI correction was performed by adding 600 milligrams (1 tablet) to the indicated dose if a person was overweight/obese. PRINCIPAL
findings3157 female students were investigated and 35% were found to be overweight/obese. Using the WHO Tablet Pole, 73% would have received an adequate dose (range 30-60 mg/kg). When correcting for BMI, this would have been 94%. Using the Modified Dose Pole with BMI correction, 97% would have been adequately treated.
conclusionsThis study shows that the WHO Tablet Pole will be inaccurate in estimating the dose of praziquantel in South African girls due to high prevalence of overweight/obesity. Under-dosing of individuals who appear overweight/obese could be largely prevented by adding an extra praziquantel tablet to the recommended dose. Further research must be done to explore if subjective weight estimates are reliable.
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