Summary of findings 3. Albendazole 400 mg single dose compared to mebendazole 500 mg single dose for treating ascariasis.
| Albendazole 400 mg single dose compared to mebendazole 500 mg single dose for treating ascariasis | ||||||
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Patient or population: children and adults Setting: school and community (Thailand Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, People's Republic of China, Republic of Indonesia; August 1991 to November 2012) Intervention: albendazole 400 mg single dose Comparison: mebendazole 500 mg single dose | ||||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | № of participants (studies) | Certainty of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Risk with mebendazole 500 mg single dose | Risk with albendazole 400 mg single dose | |||||
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Parasitological cure
assessed with: parasitological examination Follow‐up: range 7–31 days |
97 per 100 | 98 per 100 (97 to 99) | RR 1.01 (1.00 to 1.02) | 2131 (6 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊕ High | Albendazole 400 mg single dose or mebendazole 500 mg single dose results in large parasitological cure. |
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Faecal egg count
assessed with: ERR (GM or AM) Follow‐up: range 14–31 days |
ERR was almost 100% in albendazole and mebendazole groups. | — | 1902 (5 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊕ High | Albendazole 400 mg single dose or mebendazole 500mg single dose results in large reduction in faecal egg count. | |
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Adverse events
assessed with: report Follow‐up: range 14–31 days |
1 trial reported adverse events in 12.5% of participants in albendazole group and 18.1% in the mebendazole group. The main adverse events reported were headache vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal discomfort, fatigue. | — | 1902 (5 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowa,b | Albendazole 400 mg single dose or mebendazole 500 mg single dose may result in little to no difference in adverse events | |
| *The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). AM: arithmetic mean egg count; CI: confidence interval; epg: eggs per gram; ERR: egg reduction rate; GM: geometric mean egg count; RCT: randomized controlled trial; RR: risk ratio. | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect. Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different. Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect. Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. | ||||||
aDowngraded one level for risk of detection and performance bias. bDowngraded one level for imprecision.