[Study on the tolerability of high doses of praziquantel in Laotians with parasitic liver infections (author's transl)].

41 patients (20 females and 21 males aged from 8 to 68 years) were prescribed 2-cyclohexylcarbonyl-1,2,3,6,7,11b-hexahydro-4H-pyrazino[2,1-a]isoquinolin-4-one(praziquantel, EMBAY 8440, Biltricide) at a dose of 25 mg/kg body weight given three times on a single day at intervals of 4 h, for the treatment of opisthorchiasis. Clinical as well as biological tolerance was followed up very closely, first during a hospitalization period of 6 days, then on day 20, 40, 90 or more after treatment. None of the biological controls consisting of a total of 47 parameters (haematological, biochemical, urinary) showed any variation from before to after treatment. Clinical examinations, recorded in very carefully prepared case report sheets, served for systematically screening general signs and symptoms (fever, headache, etc.), digestive manifestations or neurological signs. Tolerability was absolutely perfect in 10 patients. In the remaining 31 cases the following signs were observed: lassitude or vertigo (15 times), headache (14 times), drowsiness and nausea (5 times), epigastric pain (9 times), arthralgia-myalgia (3 times), sweating (1 time). All these signs lasted one or two days only and were of weak or moderate intensity, thus allowing the conclusion that even at higher dosages tolerability to praziquantel is excellent.