No

Anthelmintic

All stages of schistosomiasis caused by all Schistosoma species pathogenic to humans; clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis

B

Ocular cysticercosis, known hypersensitivity to praziquantel

Use caution in patients with severe hepatic disease; patients with cerebral cysticercosis require hospitalization

1% to 10%:

Central nervous system: Dizziness, drowsiness, headache, malaise

Gastrointestinal: Abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting

Miscellaneous: Diaphoresis

<1%: CSF reaction syndrome in patients being treated for neurocysticercosis, fever, rash, urticaria, itching, diarrhea

Symptoms of overdose include dizziness, drowsiness, headache, liver function impairment

Treatment is supportive following GI decontamination; administer fast-acting laxative

Hydantoins may decrease praziquantel levels causing treatment failures

Increases the cell permeability to calcium in schistosomes, causing strong contractions and paralysis of worm musculature leading to detachment of suckers from the blood vessel walls and to dislodgment

Absorption: Oral: ~80%; CSF concentration is 14% to 20% of plasma concentration

Distribution: CSF concentration is 14% to 20% of plasma concentration; appears in breast milk

Protein binding: ~80%

Metabolism: Extensive first-pass metabolism

Half-life: Parent drug: 0.8-1.5 hours; Metabolites: 4.5 hours

Time to peak serum concentration: Within 1-3 hours

Elimination: Urinary excretion (99% as metabolites)

Children >4 years and Adults: Oral:

Flukes: 25 mg/kg/dose every 8 hours for 1-2 days

Cysticercosis: 50 mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours for 14 days

Tapeworms: 10-20 mg/kg as a single dose (25 mg/kg for Hymenolepis nana)

Clonorchiasis/opisthorchiasis: 3 doses of 25 mg/kg as a 1-day treatment

May cause dizziness or drowsiness

None reported

No information available to require special precautions

No effects or complications reported

Take exactly as directed for full course of medication. Tablets may be chewed, swallowed whole, or crushed and mixed with food. Increase dietary intake of fruit juices. All family members and close friends should also be treated. To reduce possibility of reinfection, wash hands and scrub nails carefully with soap and hot water before handling food, before eating, and before and after toileting. Keep hands out of mouth. Disinfect toilet daily and launder bed lines, undergarments, and nightclothes daily with hot water and soap. Do not go barefoot and do not sit directly on grass or ground. May cause dizziness, fainting, lightheadedness (use caution when driving or engaging in tasks that require alertness until response to drug is known); abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting (frequent small meals, frequent mouth care, sucking lozenges, or chewing gum may help). Report unusual fatigue, persistent dizziness, CNS changes, change in color of urine or stool, or easy bruising or unusual bleeding.

Tablets can be halved or quartered

Tablet, tri-scored: 600 mg

de Silva N, Guyatt H, and Bundy D, "Anthelmintics. A Comparative Review of Their Clinical Pharmacology," Drugs, 1997, 53(5):769-88.

"Drugs for Parasitic Infections," Med Lett Drugs Ther, 1998, 40(1017):1-12.

King CH and Mahmoud AA, "Drug Five Years Later: Praziquantel," Ann Intern Med, 1989, 110(4):290-6.

Liu LX and Weller PF, "Antiparasitic Drug," N Engl J Med, 1996, 334(18):1178-84.