• Sudhakar Pandey, Hardeep Singh Malhotra, Ravindra Kumar Garg, Kiran Preet Malhotra, Neeraj Kumar, Imran Rizvi, Amita Jain, Neera Kohli, Rajesh Verma, Praveen Sharma, Ravi Uniyal, and Shweta Pandey.
• Department of Neurology, King George's Medical University, U.P, Lucknow, 226003, India.
• Bmc Infect Dis. 2020 Mar 14; 20 (1): 220.

BackgroundThe management of disseminated cysticercosis is unclear and largely considered hazardous. The role of albendazole remains controversial in such patients.MethodsA tertiary care, University hospital-based prospective intervention study was conducted from December 2015 to December 2017. Patients with disseminated cysticercosis, defined as the presence of multiple viable neurocysticerci (≥ 3) in the brain along with involvement of an additional extra site, were included in the study. Patients with cysticercal encephalitis were excluded. A detailed evaluation, including ophthalmoscopy, ocular B scans, ultrasound abdomen, and X-rays were done. Albendazole was administered at a dose of 15 mg/kg/day in 3 cycles of 28 days each. All patients were also given adjuvant corticosteroids and anti-epileptic drugs. Clinical and radiological follow up was carried out at a difference of 3 months between each treatment cycle. For radiological quantification, lesions were counted at 10 pre-specified levels. Statistical analysis was done to estimate the difference in seizure frequency and lesion load.ResultsTwenty-nine patients (21 with > 20 lesions; 8 with ≤ 20 lesions) were given albendazole as per the protocol. There was a significant reduction in the occurrence of seizures (P < 0.001) and headache (P < 0.001). A significant reduction in lesion load from baseline to third follow-up was seen in the estimations done at different levels (P < 0.001). No patient developed serious side-effect warranting cessation of therapy.ConclusionCyclical use of albendazole appears efficacious in treating disseminated cysticercosis. The method of quantification described may be used in future studies for objective assessment.Trial RegistrationISRCTN11630542; 28th September 2019; Retrospectively registered.

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