Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0042961 (volvulus)
 4,305 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Between December 1988 and October 1989, 6373 inhabitants of 34 rural communities in Kaduna State in northern Nigeria participated in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial of ivermectin for onchocerciasis, in which height was used to determine the dose of ivermectin. In December, 1991, the field team estimated the correct dose of ivermectin solely on the physical appearance of 779 people. Researchers conducted these studies to determine whether these methods could replace weight as a reliable assessment of the dose of ivermectin. (Use of weight poses practical problems, e.g., providing and maintaining many weighing scales in rural areas.) Most participants were assigned a dose of ivermectin that deviated by no more than 1/2 tablet from the correct dose (98.8% for height method and 100% for physical appearance method). The physical appearance method was more successful at determining the correct use than the height method (82 vs. 46.5%). These studies revealed that few underdosings occurred, and they were no more than 1/2 tablet (e.g., 0.5% for height method). This findings was especially important, since underdosing does not effectively destroy the microfiliarae of Onchocerca volvulus, while overdosing causes no harm. The researchers concluded that both the height and physical appearance methods would be appropriate alternative methods to assess the ivermectin dose for people in rural communities. Further research on both methods in different settings and populations would identify which one should become the method of choice.
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PMID:Ivermectin dose assessment without weighing scales. 832 55