Fig 1.
The WHO Tablet Pole (A) and the Modified Dose Pole (B). The WHO Tablet Pole (A) and the Modified Dose Pole (B) have 7 and 9 height intervals respectively that indicate the corresponding dose of praziquantel in tablets of 600 mg each. BMI correction can be performed by adding one tablet of praziquantel for overweight and obese patients. The use of pictograms has been proposed to simplify BMI classification in practice [23].
Fig 2.
The weight range for the WHO Tablet Pole height intervals.
All individuals in one interval would have received the same number of praziquantel tablets.
Table 1.
Dosages of praziquantel that would have been administered using the WHO Tablet Pole and the Modified Dose Pole (with and without BMI correction) in a population of 3157 female students of primary and secondary schools in South Africa.
Fig 3.
The relationship between body mass index and dose received using the WHO Tablet Pole.
The increase in tablet interval (from ½ tablet to 1) at a height of 160 cm appears as a gap in the study population. The horizontal lines present the range of an appropriate praziquantel dose between 30–60 mg/kg.
Table 2.
The cost of weight scales for mass treatment in schools in the KwaZulu-Natal Province.