Intermittent chemotherapy with trichlorfon (metrifonate) reverses proteinuria, hematuria, and leukocyturia in urinary schistosomiasis: Results of a three-year field study

Trichlorfon (metrifonate) was given intermittently to 37 schoolboys with urinary schistosomiasis living in an hyperendemic area of the Sudan. Patients were followed up for three years. Initially, 10 mg of trichlorfon/kg of body weight was administered; this dosage was repeated 14 days and 16 months later. Patients still excreting eggs after 24 months received a fourth dose. At month 24, 61% and at month 36, 56% of the patients had no detectable egg excretion; the others showed severe reduction of egg output. The number of ova excreted was always paralleled by a combined scale of hematuria, leukocyturia, and proteinuria, as assessed by urine analysis reagent strips. Quantitative urine analysis at month 36 revealed pathological findings in only eight individuals. Thus, trichlorfon given three or four times in a dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight spaced over a period of two years was highly effective in reducing parasite load and disease in children living under hyperendemic conditions.