Pharmacokinetic investigation of albendazole and praziquantel in Thai children infected with Giardia intestinalis

The pharmacokinetics of albendazole/albendazole sulphoxide and praziquantel were investigated in Thai children with Giardia infection. Twenty school-age children were randomly allocated to receive either a single oral dose of albendazole (400 mg/child) or the same dose of albendazole given concurrently with a single oral dose of praziquantel (20 mg/kg). The concentrations of albendazole/albendazole sulphoxide and praziquantel in plasma samples, collected at intervals in the first 24 h post-treatment, were then quantified using HPLC with ultra-violet detection. No significant pharmacokinetic interaction between the albendazole and praziquantel was demonstrated. For albendazole sulphoxide, the active metabolite of albendazole, there was marked inter-individual variation in the maximum plasma concentration and the 'area under the curve'. The pharmacokinetics of albendazole sulphoxide were similar whether albendazole was given alone or in combination with praziquantel.