Fig 1.
Diagram outlining the identification of papers through a search conducted in September 2024, results retrieved from four databases with screening and review of studies, and those subsequently acquired for the systematic review.
Table 1.
School-based treatment (ages 0-22) with praziquantel using the WHO dose pole for treatment based on classifications (Insufficient, Acceptable, Optimal, and Excessive doses) from nine studies.
Fig 2.
Random-effects meta-analysis of acceptable/optimal and insufficient praziquantel dosing by treatment strategy and age range.
Forest plots show the proportion of participants receiving acceptable/optimal doses (30-60 mg/Kg) (blue circles) and insufficient doses (<30mg/Kg) (green squares) for each study, estimated using the DerSimonian–Laird random-effects model. Panels represent: (A) school-based treatment of school-age children (SAC), (B) community-wide treatment including SAC and adults (0–95 years), (C) community-wide treatment of adults only (15–95 years), (D) age-matched adults (16–23 years), and (E) age-matched adults (15–49 years). The dotted vertical line indicates the pooled proportion for each dosing category, and the shaded area shows the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).
Table 2.
Community-wide treatment (ages 0-95) classified based on the dose categories (Insufficient, Acceptable, Optimal, and Excessive doses), from six studies.
Table 3.
Community-based treatment for adults (ages 15-95) by dose categories (Insufficient, Acceptable, Optimal, and Excessive) using the WHO dose pole, from three studies in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Mozambique.
Table 4.
Community-based treatment for adults (ages 16-23) using the WHO dose pole, categorized by dose (Insufficient, Acceptable, Optimal, and Excessive), from two studies in Mozambique and South Africa.
Table 5.
Community-based treatment for adults (ages15-49), categorized by dose (Insufficient, Acceptable, Optimal, and Excessive), using the WHO dose pole with matched ages (15-49) from two studies in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.