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THE ADDITION OF ARTESUNATE TO CHLOROQUINE FOR TREATMENT OF PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM MALARIA IN GAMBIAN CHILDREN DELAYS, BUT DOES NOT PREVENT TREATMENT FAILURE
Author(s) -
Colin J. Sutherland,
Christopher J. Drakeley,
Uche Obisike,
Rosalind Coleman,
Musa Jawara,
Geoffrey Targett,
Paul Milligan,
Margaret Pinder,
Gijs Walraven
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1476-1645
pISSN - 0002-9637
DOI - 10.4269/ajtmh.2003.69.19
Subject(s) - artesunate , chloroquine , malaria , parasitemia , medicine , plasmodium falciparum , combination therapy , confidence interval , immunology
In a randomized controlled trial, chloroquine monotherapy was compared with the combination of artesunate and chloroquine for treating uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 536 Gambian children. Chloroquine-treated children exhibited a 28-day clinical failure rate of 15% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.2-22%) compared with 11% (7.8-15%) among children receiving the combination (P = 0.08, by Wilcoxon test). Seventy-three percent of chloroquine-treated children exhibited parasitemia during follow-up compared with 49% of children receiving the combination (relative risk = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.3-1.7; chi2 = 21.18, P < 0.001). A significant reduction in clinical and parasitologic treatment failure in the combination group occurred in the first two weeks following treatment, but this was eroded over weeks three and four of follow-up. The impact of combination therapy on the transmission of chloroquine-resistant parasites is discussed. Chloroquine plus artesunate is not sufficiently efficacious to justify its introduction as a replacement for chloroquine monotherapy in The Gambia.

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