***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Abstract In a comparative trial , 165 Cuban children with confirmed giardiasis were r and omized to receive albendazole ( 400 mg/day for 5 days ) , chloroquine ( 10 mg/kg twice daily for 5 days ) or tinidazole ( 50 mg/kg , as a single dose ) . Parasitological follow-up was based on faecal sample s collected 7 and 10 days after the completion of treatment . The tinidazole and chloroquine appeared equally effective ( P > 0.05 ) , curing 91 % and 86 % of the children treated , respectively , and significantly better ( P < 0.01 ) than the albendazole , which only cured 62 % of the children given it . All three drugs were well accepted and tolerated , with only mild , transient and self-limiting side-effects reported . Chloroquine appears to be a good alternative to tinidazole for the treatment of paediatric patients with giardiasis BACKGROUND Giardia duodenalis is among the commonest protozoan parasites in the intestinal tract of humans and may cause significant morbidity worldwide . Although there are several antigiardial agents , treatment failures have been commonly reported . OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of chloroquine ( CQ ) versus metronidazole ( MTZ ) in the treatment of children with confirmed G duodenalis mono-infection . METHODS A r and omized , controlled , open-label trial was carried out at the Cuban Institute of Gastroenterology . One hundred and twenty-two children were r and omly assigned to receive either CQ ( 10 mg/Kg bodyweight twice a day for five days ) or MTZ [ 15 mg/Kg bodyweight divided in three daily does for five days ] . All children were asked to provide three faecal sample s on days 3 , 5 and 7 after treatment completion . Children were considered to be cured , if no Giardia trophozoites or cysts were found in any of the three post-treatment faecal specimens evaluated by direct wet mounts and /or after Ritchie concentration techniques . RESULTS The frequency of cure was a little higher for CQ than for MTZ but the difference was not statistically significant . Headache was more common in patients treated with CQ as was bitter taste . Yellowish colouration of the urine was more frequent in the MTZ treated group . CONCLUSION Chloroquine , for five days , is as efficacious as the recommended treatment with MTZ in children infected with G duodenalis 50 patients with giardiasis were treated with either metronidazole or tinidazole in r and om order according to a code . 25 patients received 2.0 g metronidazole on 2 consecutive days ; 19 were cured ( 76 % ) ; 7 patients complained of mild side-effects . 25 patients received tinidazole 2.0 g as a single dose , and 22 were cured ( 88 % ) ; 5 patients complained of mild side-effects . The difference between the results of the two regimens was not statistically significant . A 1-week course of metronidazole ( 200 mg 3 times daily ) was successful in 8/9 failures ; 1 patient was finally cured with mepacrine Abstract Giardia lamblia is among the commonest intestinal protozoa world-wide and may cause significant morbidity , especially in children . Although 5-nitroimidazole compounds have formed the mainstay of giardiasis treatment for several years , the increasing number of reports of refractory cases given these and other antigiardial agents has raised concern and led to a search for other compounds . The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy and safety , in the treatment of children infected with G. lamblia , of nitazoxanide , given at a dose of 7.5 mg/kg twice a day for 3 days , with those of tinidazole , given as a single dose of 50 mg/kg . Overall , 166 children , each proven to be infected with G. lamblia by the microscopical examination of a faecal sample , were included in the open and r and omized trial , each being allocated to receive nitazoxanide or tinidazole .  The parents of each treated child were asked to collect two faecal sample s from the child between 5 and 10 days after the completion of treatment , for the parasitological follow-up . Only if no G. lamblia were found in both post-treatment sample s from a child was that child considered cured . Among the 137 children who completed the study ( 74 given nitazoxanide and 63 given tinidazole ) , the frequency of parasitological cure following a single dose of tinidazole was significantly higher than that following six doses of nitazoxanide ( 90.5 % v. 78.4 % ; P<0.05 ) . Both treatment schedules were well accepted and well tolerated , with only mild , transient and self-limited side-effects reported . The commonest symptom on enrolment , diarrhoea , generally cleared 2–6 days after the initiation of treatment . Although apparently less efficacious than tinidazole , nitazoxanide remains a good c and i date for the treatment of children with G. lamblia infection Metronidazole , tinidazole and ornidazole were compared in patients treated for Entamoeba histolytica or Giardia lamblia intestinal infections . Only patients with three positive stool specimens for trophozoites and /or cysts of E. histolytica or G. lamblia by the merthiolate iodine formaldehyde ( MIFC ) technique were included . Criteria for cure were at least 10 negative stool specimens over 3 weeks after completing therapy . Fifty-three male patients ( aged 9 - 65 years ) had E. histolytica infection . Seventeen received metronidazole ( 1.5 g daily for 10 days ) , 18 tinidazole ( 1.5 g daily for 10 days ) and 18 ornidazole ( 1 g daily for 10 days ) . Metronidazole yielded 88 % , tinidazole 67 % and ornidazole 94 % cure rates . Side reactions were minor . Eighty patients had G. lamblia infection , of whom 20 received metronidazole ( 0.5 g daily for 10 days ) , 30 tinidazole ( single 2 g dose ) and 30 ornidazole ( single 1 g dose ) . Cure rates were 95 % for metronidazole , 90 % for tinidazole and 97 % for ornidazole with no side reactions One hundred and twenty four children with symptomatic and parasitologically confirmed giardiasis were treated in a comparative trial . The dosage of antigiardia drug was adjusted to the body surface area of the patients from the adult basic dosage as 100 mg of quinacrine t.i.d . for 5 days , 200 mg of metronidazole t.i.d . for 7 days , 2 gm of metronidazole once , 2 gm of tinidazole once or 2 gm of ornidazole once . They were hospitalized for follow-up for 30 days . The parasitological follow-up consisted of daily examination of stool specimens . Reinfections were unlikely . The rates of success were : a 5-day course of quinacrine , cured all of them , 20 patients ; a 7-day course of metronidazole , 12 of 20 ; metronidazole , single dose , 11 of 21 ; tinidazole , single dose , 18 of 21 ; ornidazole , single dose , 21 of 22 ; placebo , none of 20 . After a single dose , 5 patients had transient elevation of transaminases , one patient in each of metronidazole and tinidazole group 3 patients in ornidazole group . A 5-day course of quinacrine gave excellent result but the drug is not widely marketed . Ornidazole or tinidazole were more effective , both of them were recommended as a drug of choice as single dose therapy , however transient increase of transaminases may occur in some cases Summary In r and om order , a single dose of either tinidazole or metronidazole , calculated as 50mg/kg body weight , was given to 100 children with symptomatic giardiasis . Follow-up was done for 16 days and consisted of 4 clinical , parasitological and biochemical assessment s at intervals of 4 days . The actual mean dose of the drugs received by the patients was 55.5mg/kg of tinidazole and 52.0mg/kg of metronidazole . Success , i.e. parasitic clearance and symptomatic relief was achieved in 80 % of patients given tinidazole as opposed to 36 % of patients given metronidazole ( p < 0.01 ) . Moreover , control of diarrhoea and negative stool conversion for G. lamblia occurred earlier with tinidazole than with metronidazole ( p < 0.01 ) . The incidence of gastrointestinal side-effects was 12 % for tinidazole and 4 % for metronidazole . Neither drug caused any abnormality of the blood count , blood urea , urine analysis or liver function tests 
    Output:
    
Our results support the use of 5-NIs ( mainly tinidazole ) as first-line therapy for Cuban pediatric patients infected with Giardia and may continue being used as reference drugs in future RCTs of giardiasis .