TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of different drug regimens for the treatment of loiasis; a TropNet retrospective study
AU - Gobbi, Federico
AU - Bottieau, Emmanuel
AU - Bouchaud, Olivier
AU - Buonfrate, Dora
AU - Salvador, Fernando
AU - Rojo-Marcos, Gerardo
AU - Rodari, Paola
AU - Clerinx, Jan
AU - Trevino, Begona
AU - Paulo Herrera-Avila, Juan
AU - Neumayr, Andreas
AU - Calleri, Guido
AU - Angheben, Andrea
AU - Rothe, Camilla
AU - Zammarchi, Lorenzo
AU - Guerriero, Massimo
AU - Bisoffi, Zeno
N1 - FTX; DOAJ
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - BackgroundLoa loa infection is endemic in limited areas of West-Central Africa. Loiasis has been associated with excess mortality, but clinical studies on its treatment are scant, particularly outside endemic areas, due to the rarity of cases diagnosed.Methodology/Principal findingsWith this retrospective TropNet (European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health) study, we aimed at outlining the treatment schedules followed by different reference centers for tropical medicine across Europe. We gathered information about 238 cases of loiasis, 165 of which had follow up data. The regimens followed by the different centers were heterogeneous. The drugs most frequently administered were: diethylcarbamazine alone (74/165, 45.1%), ivermectin alone (41/165, 25%), albendazole + ivermectin (21/164, 11.6%), ivermectin + diethylcarbamazine (16/165, 9.7%).Conclusions/SignificanceThe management of loiasis substantially differs across specialized travel clinics in Europe. These discrepancies could be due to different local protocols as well as to (un)availability of the drugs. An harmonization of clinical protocols for the treatment of loiasis would be suggested across reference centers for tropical medicine in Europe.
AB - BackgroundLoa loa infection is endemic in limited areas of West-Central Africa. Loiasis has been associated with excess mortality, but clinical studies on its treatment are scant, particularly outside endemic areas, due to the rarity of cases diagnosed.Methodology/Principal findingsWith this retrospective TropNet (European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health) study, we aimed at outlining the treatment schedules followed by different reference centers for tropical medicine across Europe. We gathered information about 238 cases of loiasis, 165 of which had follow up data. The regimens followed by the different centers were heterogeneous. The drugs most frequently administered were: diethylcarbamazine alone (74/165, 45.1%), ivermectin alone (41/165, 25%), albendazole + ivermectin (21/164, 11.6%), ivermectin + diethylcarbamazine (16/165, 9.7%).Conclusions/SignificanceThe management of loiasis substantially differs across specialized travel clinics in Europe. These discrepancies could be due to different local protocols as well as to (un)availability of the drugs. An harmonization of clinical protocols for the treatment of loiasis would be suggested across reference centers for tropical medicine in Europe.
KW - LOA-LOA FILARIASIS
KW - IMPORTED LOIASIS
KW - ENDEMIC REGIONS
KW - DIETHYLCARBAMAZINE
KW - FEATURES
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006917
DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006917
M3 - A1: Web of Science-article
SN - 1935-2735
VL - 12
JO - PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
JF - PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
IS - 11
M1 - 0006917
ER -