Alternatives to bodyweight for estimating the dose of praziquantel needed to treat schistosomiasis

Data on age, height and mid upper-arm circumference (MUAC) from nearly 6000 schoolchildren in Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi (not MUAC) were used to examine their power to predict bodyweight and thus the dosage of praziquantel required to treat schistosomiasis. Height was found to provide a simple and reasonably accurate estimate of weight, and about 75% of children would have been given a dosage of praziquantel within the range normally given using bodyweight at a dosage of 40 mg/kg bodyweight. The upper and lower ranges in dosage did not exceed dosages of praziquantel which have been used before or are currently recommended to treat schistosomiasis. A pole marked with the number of tablets could thus be used as a simple way to determine the dose of praziquantel to treat children in school-based health programmes.