[Evaluation of the effectiveness of thiabendazole, pyrantel and mebendazole in the treatment of necatoriasis in children].

A study was made of 48 patients from the different departments of the Hospital del Niño, DIF, in which hookworm eggs were demonstrated by qualitative coproparasitoscopic study (CPS). During the study, quantitative CPS was practiced on them by Stoll's dilution and the Harada-Mori technique, for the identification of the hookworm larvae. They were divided into three groups: A, B and C (16 patients in each group); the study was single-blind. The effectiveness of the evaluated drugs was based on the disappearance or diminution of hookworms eggs in the CPS (Stoll) practiced 2 weeks after the drug treatment had finished. The work was done with patients parasitized by Necator americanus (verified by the Harada-Mori technique). The A group was given pyrantel pamoate; the B group, thiabendazole and the C group, mebendazole. The results obtained were statistically processed by means of X2 proportions. There was no significant difference between the three groups when a light to moderate necatoriasis was treated; when a massive infection was involved, there was a significant difference and it was found that the best drug was pyrantel pamoate administered at the dose of 20 mg/kg/day/3 days. There were few side effects in the three groups, but they were not sufficient to cause suspension of the treatment. The cheapest drug was thiabendazole.