Paediatric Giardiasis: Recent Advances in Therapeutic Management

Giardiasis is one of the most common causes of diarrhoeal disease worldwide. Giardia lamblia, its etiological agent, is a protozoan parasite that infects the small intestine of humans and may be asymptomatic or cause acute or chronic diarrhoea, weight loss, malabsorption, and, in children, failure to thrive. Treatment is primarily with 5-nitroimidazole drugs, mainly metronidazole and tinidazole; however, treatment failures-which may occur in up to 20% of cases is a common cause of symptom persistence after a complete course of treatment. Development of alternative antigiardials for children is important. In this review, data are summarized providing information about current therapy against G. lamblia in paediatric use.