COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF 3 DIFFERENT DIETHYLCARBAMAZINE REGIMENS IN LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS

To assess the efficacy of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) in clearing Wuchere ria bancrofti microfilariae (mf) from the circulation, we conducted a single blind hospital-based therapeutic trial of 3 DEC regimens. All p atients were assessed by filtration of 1 mt of venous blood taken befo re and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after DEC administration. The efficacy of a 12 d course of 6 mg/kg DEC once daily was identical to that of a si milar course with 2 mg/kg given 3 times daily, indicating that split-d ose treatment does not improve mf clearance over single daily drug adm inistration. Microfilarial densities in patients treated only once wit h 6 mg/kg DEC remained significantly higher at 1,3, and 6 months after treatment. However, all 3 treatment regimens proved equally effective in controlling microfilaraemia after 12 months, when 41, 42 and 40% o f patients in the 3 treatment groups were amicrofilaraemic. These resu lts suggest that a single DEC dose of 6 mg/kg administered annually or biannually may be a suitable regimen to control bancroftian filariasi s in Recife, Brazil.