A seven days course of eflornithine for relapsing Trypanosoma brucei gambiense sleeping sickness.

Forty-seven patients with a relapse following a first treatment of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense trypanosomiasis were treated with a 7 d course of intravenous eflornithine (100 mg/kg every 6 h) and followed for 2 years. Four patients died after treatment, 2 of them possibly due to trypanosomiasis. One patient was completely lost to follow-up, 36 were followed for at least one year, and 25 have completed the 2 years' follow-up. Only one patient, a 5 years old child, subsequently relapsed. Considering this child and 2 of the fatalities as treatment failures, the rate of failure was 6.5%. A 7 d course of intravenous eflornithine is an adequate treatment for cases of Gambian trypanosomiasis relapsing after treatment with another drug.