Table 1. Characteristics of the randomized controlled trials included in the meta-analysis.
| Author, Year (Country) | Study Design | No. of Randomized Participants | Age (yr) | Disease Characteristics | Anti-giardial Drug Regimens (No. of Participants) | Efficacy |
| Alizadeh, 2006 (Iran) [39] | Open-label*, RCT | 120 | 2–53 | Symptomatic | Albendazole, 400 mg/d for 5d (60) | Albendazole (90%) |
| Two parallel arms | Metronidazole, 250 mg tid for 5d (60) | Metronidazole (76.7%) | ||||
| Yereli, 2004 (Turkey) [41] | Open-label, RCT | 107 | 3–15 | Symptomatic | Albendazole, 10 mg/kg sid for 5d (52) | Albendazole (90.4%) |
| Two parallel arms | Asymptomatic | Metronidazole, 20 mg/kg tid for 7d (57) | Metronidazole (89.1%) | |||
| Karabay, 2004 (Turkey) [40] | Open-label, RCT | 57 | 41±12¥ | Symptomatic | Albendazole, 400 mg/d for 5d (28) | Albendazole (96.4%) |
| Two parallel arms | 38±14‡ | Metronidazole, 500 mg tid for 5d (29) | Metronidazole (100%) | |||
| Rodríguez-García, 1996 [44] | Open-label, RCT | 49 | 3–12 | Symptomatic | Albendazole, 200 mg tid for 5 d (27) | Albendazole (77%) |
| Two parallel arms | Asymptomatic | Metronidazole, 30 mg/kg tid for 5 d (22) | Metronidazole (72.7%) | |||
| Misra, 1995 (India) [29] | Open-label, RCT | 34 | 2–12 | Symptomatic | Albendazole, 400 mg/d for 5d (18) | Albendazole (100%) |
| Two parallel arms | Metronidazole, 7.5 mg/kg tid for 5d (16) | Metronidazole (100%) | ||||
| Romero-Cabello, 1995 (Mexico) [42] | Open-label, RCT | 100 | 4–11 | Symptomatic | Albendazole, 400 mg/d for 5d (50) | Albendazole (94%) |
| Two parallel arms | Asymptomatic | Metronidazole, 7.5 mg/kg tid for 5d (50) | Metronidazole (98%) | |||
| Dutta, 1994 (India) [45] | Open-label&, RCT | 150 | 2–10 | N.S.# | Albendazole, 400 mg as a single dose (75) | Albendazole (97%) |
| Multicenter, Two parallel arms | Metronidazole, 22.5 mg/kg tid for 5d (75) | Metronidazole (97%) | ||||
| Hall, 1993a (Bangladesh) [43] | Open-label§, RCT | 283 | 5–10 | N.S.€ | Albendazole, 400 mg sid for 3d (116) | Albendazole (87.8%) |
| Three parallel arms in each trial | Metronidazole, 125 mg tid for 5d (115) | Metronidazole (98.7%) | ||||
| Hall, 1993b (Bangladesh) [43] | Open-label§, RCT | 283 | 5–10 | N.S.€ | Albendazole, 400 mg sid for 5d (115) | Albendazole (94.1%) |
| Three parallel arms in each trial | Metronidazole, 125 mg tid for 5d (115) | Metronidazole (100%) |
Abbreviations: N.S., Not Stated; s.i.d., once a day; t.i.d., three times a day; RCT, randomized clinical trial.
¥Albendazole group.
‡Metronidazole group.
#The included patients were probably symptomatic individuals referred to three hospitals in India.
€Initially 768 children were screened in an urban slum in Dhaka from which 678 children were found to be infected with Giradia. The infected children were probably asymptomatic cyst-passers.
*The person who performed the stool microscopy was blinded to the treatments regimens.
&The stool sample examiner was blinded to the treatment regimens.
§Stool examination was done blinded to the treatment status of the patient.