Prospective study finds safe reduction of albendazole therapy length in alveolar echinococcosis patients, indicating effectiveness of imaging follow-up.
In a prospective study of 15 patients with liver alveolar echinococcosis who underwent curative surgery, a strategy to reduce the recommended 2-year postoperative albendazole (ABZ) regimen was evaluated. Guided by negative positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results at 1 year, ABZ was safely discontinued earlier (median 14 months) in 10 patients, with no recurrence observed during the mean 47 months of follow-up, indicating that postoperative ABZ may be safely shortened with careful imaging follow-up. Interestingly, a retrospective analysis of the rEm18AB antibody index showed that a negative index was not required for ABZ withdrawal, although a declining trend supported the decision.
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Calame et al. (2025) studied this question.
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