Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Malaria in Papua New Guinean Infants Exposed to Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Senn, N; Rarau, P; Stanisic, DI; Robinson, L; Barnadas, C; Manong, D; Salib, M; Iga, J; Tarongka, N; Ley, S; Rosanas-Urgell, A; Aponte, JJ; Zimmerman, PA; Beeson, JG; Schofield, L; Siba, P; Rogerson, SJ; Reeder, JC; Mueller, I

Author(s): Senn, N; Rarau, P; Stanisic, DI; Robinson, L; Barnadas, C; Manong, D; Salib, M; Iga, J; Tarongka, N; Ley, S; Rosanas-Urgell, A; Aponte, JJ; Zimmerman, PA; Beeson, JG; Schofield, L; Siba, P; Rogerson, SJ; Reeder, JC; Mueller, I;
Details: Publication Year 2012-03,Volume 9,Issue #3,Page e1001195
Journal Title: PLOS MEDICINE
Publication Type: Journal Article
Abstract: Background: Intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi) has been shown in randomized trials to reduce malaria-related morbidity in African infants living in areas of high Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) transmission. It remains unclear whether IPTi is an appropriate prevention strategy in non-African settings or those co-endemic for P. vivax (Pv). Methods and Findings: In this study, 1,121 Papua New Guinean infants were enrolled into a three-arm placebo-controlled randomized trial and assigned to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) (25 mg/kg and 1.25 mg/kg) plus amodiaquine (AQ) (10 mg/kg, 3 d, n = 374), SP plus artesunate (AS) (4 mg/kg, 3 d, n = 374), or placebo (n = 373), given at 3, 6, 9 and 12 mo. Both participants and study teams were blinded to treatment allocation. The primary end point was protective efficacy (PE) against all episodes of clinical malaria from 3 to 15 mo of age. Analysis was by modified intention to treat. The PE (compared to placebo) against clinical malaria episodes (caused by all species) was 29% (95% CI, 10-43, p <= 0.001) in children receiving SP-AQ and 12% (95% CI, 211 to 30, p = 0.12) in those receiving SP-AS. Efficacy was higher against Pf than Pv. In the SP-AQ group, Pf incidence was 35% (95% CI, 9-54, p = 0.012) and Pv incidence was 23% (95% CI, 0-41, p = 0.048) lower than in the placebo group. IPTi with SP-AS protected only against Pf episodes (PE = 31%, 95% CI, 4-51, p = 0.027), not against Pv episodes (PE = 6%, 95% CI, 224 to 26, p = 0.759). Number of observed adverse events/serious adverse events did not differ between treatment arms (p>0.55). None of the serious adverse events were thought to be treatment-related, and the vomiting rate was low in both treatment groups (1.4%-2.0%). No rebound in malaria morbidity was observed for 6 mo following the intervention. Conclusions: IPTi using a long half-life drug combination is efficacious for the prevention of malaria and anemia in infants living in a region highly endemic for both Pf and Pv.
Publisher: PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
Keywords: PLUS SULFADOXINE-PYRIMETHAMINE; MOLECULAR MARKERS; RESISTANCE; CHILDREN; PATTERNS; IPTI; AMODIAQUINE; CHLOROQUINE; POPULATION; INFECTION
Research Division(s): Infection And Immunity
Publisher's Version: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001195
Open Access at Publisher's Site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3313928/
Terms of Use/Rights Notice: Copyright: © 2012 Senn et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Documents: journal.pmed.1001195.pdf - (0.38MB, application/pdf)

Creation Date: 2012-03-01 12:00:00