Treatment of cutaneous gnathostomiasis with ivermectin

In a randomized open study, we compared the efficacy of a single dose of oral ivermectin (200 mug/kg) and oral albendazole (400 mg/day for 21 days) for the treatment of cutaneous gnathostomiasis. Thirty-one patients were randomly assigned to receive ivermectin (n = 17) or albendazole (n 14). Thirteen of 17 patients who received ivermectin responded, 3 relapsed, and 1 was unresponsive (cure rate 76%). Thirteen of 14 patients who received albendazole responded very well and did not relapse. Only one patient was unresponsive (cure rate = 92%; P > 0.05). No major side effects were observed in both groups. We concluded that a single dose of ivermectin (200 mug/kg) is less effective than albendazole (400 mg/day for 21 days) for treatment of cutaneous gnathostomiasis, but there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05).