A controlled trial of ivermectin and diethylcarbamazine in lymphatic filariasis.
Ottesan, E.A.; Vijayasekaran, V.; Kumaraswami, V.; Perumal Pillai, S.V.; Sadanandam, A.; Shiela Frederick, B.S.; Prabhakar, R.; Tripathy, S.P.
The New England Journal of Medicine; 1990; 322; 1113-1117.
Ivermectin is a new antifilarial drug that can be given in a single oral dose. To compare the efficacy and side effects of ivermectin with those of diethylcarbamazine, the standard antifilarial treatment, we conducted a randomized, double-blind trial in 40 South Indian men with lymphatic filariasis caused by Wuchereria bancrofti . Patients were randomly assigned to one of three treatments; a single low dose of ivermectin (mean+ SE), 21.3+ 0.7 mg per kilogram of body weight; n=13) followed by placebo for 12 days; a single high dose of ivermectin (mean, 126.2+3.7 mg per kilogram; n=13) followed by placebo for 12 days; or diethylcarbamazine for 13 days (6 mg per kilogram per day for 12 days preceded by 3 mg per kilogram for 1 day; n=14). Eleven patients were initially assigned to receive placebo and after five days were reassigned to one of the three treatment groups.
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