SynthesisPLoS neglected tropical diseases2025
Evaluating the efficacy of the praziquantel dose pole for schistosomiasis treatment: A multi-country systematic review.
Synthesis in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Individual and spatial heterogeneity of praziquantel efficacy against Schistosoma mansoni within the context of repeated mass drug administration.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Plant-Derived Terpenes as Emerging Therapeutics Against Schistosomiasis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease targeted for elimination as a public health problem by 2030 under the WHO's roadmap. Praziquantel, administered via the dose pole, which estimates the number of tablets needed for treatment according to an individual's height, has been used as preventive chemotherapy (PC) for 25 years, particularly for school-aged children (SAC). In 2022, PC was required for schistosomiasis in 50 countries, affecting a total of 264.3 million people, including 129.4 million adults. This systematic review evaluates the accuracy of the praziquantel dose pole across 64,212 individuals from 21 countries, focusing on its efficacy in delivering optimal, acceptable, insufficient, and excessive doses during school-based and community-wide treatment campaigns for schistosomiasis. The search strategy included the terms "dose pole" OR "tablet pole" AND "praziquantel" AND "schistosomiasis" in four databases (PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, and Embase), ranging from 1999 to September 2024. The dose pole demonstrated 96% accuracy in providing optimal/acceptable doses (30-60mg/Kg) to SAC. However, its effectiveness markedly declined for adults (15-95 years), with a pooled proportion of 19% receiving insufficient doses (<30mg/Kg), ranging from 10% to 34%. These discrepancies arise from misalignments between adult body metrics and the dose pole's height-based dosing, primarily due to overweight and obesity, leading to underdosing. While the dose pole remains effective for SAC, its limitations for adults necessitate urgent adaptation or alternative dosing strategies to ensure equitable and effective treatment across all age groups.
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