Albendazole single dose compared to mebendazole multiple doses for treating ascariasis
Patient or population: treating ascariasis Setting: school and community Intervention: albendazole single dose Comparison: mebendazole multiple doses
Outcomes	Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI)		Relative effect (95% CI)	№ of participants (studies)	Certainty of the evidence (GRADE)	Comments
	Risk with mebendazole multiple doses	Risk with albendazole single dose
Parasitological cure assessed with: parasitological examination Follow‐up: range 21–30 days	95 per 100	96 per 100 (93 to 99)	RR 1.01 (0.98 to 1.04)	1052 (4 RCTs)	⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderatea	Albendazole single dose is probably as effective as mebendazole multiple doses for treating ascariasis.
Faecal egg count assessed with: ERR (GM or AR) Follow‐up: range 21–30 days	ERR of epg of faeces was almost 100% in albendazole single dose and mebendazole multiple doses			969 (3 RCTs)	⊕⊕⊕⊕ High	Albendazole single dose and mebendazole multiple doses result in large reductions in faecal eggs count.
Adverse outcomes Follow‐up: range 21–30 days	The percentage of children reporting symptoms, following albendazole and mebendazole treatment was small and included headache abdominal comfort, vomiting diarrhoea, fever, and worm expulsion through mouth.			537 (2 RCTs)	⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowb,c	There may be little to no difference in adverse outcomes for albendazole single dose compared to mebendazole multiple doses.
*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.
Footnotes aDowngraded one level for inconsistency (I² = 46%). bDowngraded one level for risk of performance bias. cDowngraded one level for imprecision: very few events reported.