Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of albendazole (ABZ) in the treatment of hepatic cystic echinococcosis (HCE). Methods Randomised trials and quasi-randomised trials of ABZ for treating HCE were sought by electronic and handsearching. Studies were analyzed according to the methods recommended by The Cochrane Collabration. Results Only two studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of both was graded as B. One study compared ABZ with mebendazole (MBZ). This showed similar effective rates in the numbers of cysts and cases [RR 1.19, 95%CI (0.97, 1.46)] and [RR 1.35, 95%CI (0.91, 2.00)]. The other study compared ABZ plus surgery with surgery alone.This showed that efficacy was comparable between one-month treatment of ABZ plus surgery and surgery alone [RR 1.63, 95%CI (0.90, 2.93)]; but that 3 months of treatment with ABZ plus surgery could significantly improve the efficacy compared to surgery alone [RR 1.89, 95% CI (1.09, 3.29)]. Conclusion In the treatment of HCE, ABZ has similar efficacy on MBZ; long-term (3 months) treatment of ABZ given before surgery may improve the efficacy when compared to surgery alone. More high-quality randomised trials are required to define the role of ABZ in treating HCE.
