{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T05:15:55Z","timestamp":1783487755748,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pharmacol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Clonorchiasis frequently presents as intrahepatic space-occupying lesions, posing a diagnostic challenge due to the low sensitivity of fecal examination. While Praziquantel is the standard first-line therapy, Albendazole is often used empirically in suspected cases. However, the comparative efficacy of these two agents across different levels of diagnostic certainty (confirmed vs. suspected) remains poorly defined.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This retrospective cohort study included 151 patients with clonorchiasis-related hepatic lesions treated at our institution between January 2018 and December 2025. Patients were categorized into a Praziquantel group (\n                      <jats:italic>n =<\/jats:italic>\n                      78) and an Albendazole group (\n                      <jats:italic>n =<\/jats:italic>\n                      73). The primary outcome was clinical cure within 90 days, defined as symptom resolution, lesion reduction \u226550%, and normalization of eosinophil counts. Multivariable logistic regression and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were employed to evaluate the interaction between treatment regimens and diagnostic certainty.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The overall clinical cure rate was higher in the Praziquantel group (76.9%, 60\/78) than in the Albendazole group (67.1%, 49\/73), though the difference was not statistically significant (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03c7<\/jats:italic>\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      = 1.804,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.179). Stratified analysis revealed that Praziquantel was significantly more effective in confirmed cases (90.0% vs. 62.5%,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.047), whereas no significant difference was observed in suspected cases (68.8% vs. 68.4%,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.971). The \u201cDrug\/times Diagnosis\u201d interaction test showed marginal significance (\n                      <jats:italic>P =<\/jats:italic>\n                      0.064). After adjusting for confounders, Albendazole showed similar clinical outcomes to Praziquantel (Adjusted OR = 0.665, 95% CI: 0.298\u20131.482,\n                      <jats:italic>P =<\/jats:italic>\n                      0.318). GEE analysis confirmed a significant \u201cDrug \u00d7 Time\u201d interaction (\n                      <jats:italic>P &amp;lt;<\/jats:italic>\n                      0.001), indicating distinct kinetic patterns of recovery, with Praziquantel demonstrating a superior cure advantage over time. Age was identified as an independent predictor of clinical cure (\n                      <jats:italic>P =<\/jats:italic>\n                      0.017).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The efficacy of Albendazole in treating clonorchiasis-related hepatic lesions is modulated by diagnostic certainty. While Praziquantel remains the superior choice for confirmed cases, Albendazole demonstrates comparable clinical efficacy in stool-negative suspected cases. These findings indicate that Albendazole demonstrates similar lesion resolution to Praziquantel in stool-negative suspected cases. However, given the retrospective design, these results should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating, necessitating prospective trials for confirmation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2026.1878617","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T04:43:30Z","timestamp":1783485810000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Empirical therapy for hepatic lesions in suspected clonorchiasis: a comparative efficacy analysis of Albendazole and Praziquantel"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Ya-zhao","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]},{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine II, Guangzhou Guanggang New Town Hospital","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peng-zhen","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Guangzhou Panyu Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu-feng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wen-yu","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qi-fa","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhi-hui","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zi-ying","family":"Lei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun-feng","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-18616-6_12","article-title":"Epidemiology of trematode infections: an update","volume":"1154","author":"Chai","year":"2019","journal-title":"Adv. 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