Height as a substitute for weight for estimating praziquantel dosage.

The study evaluated height and weight measurements of 750 school children from five rural communities in western Nigeria. The measurements were taken by 12 trained community members designated as distributors in determining treatment dose with praziquantel for these children. A very strong correlation value, r=0.97, was obtained for the weight of treated children measured by the distributors and the research team. The distributors obtained a correlation coefficient value of r=0.87 on weight and height measurements, showing that height can be used by community distributors in lieu of weight for correct dose determination.