Efficacy of sulfadoxin pyrimethamine for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in a small sample of Sudanese children

East Mediterr Health J. 2004 May;10(3):309-14.

Abstract

A prospective clinical trial was carried out to determine in vivo efficacy of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children in New Halfa. Forty patients were enrolled; 31 completed the 28-day follow-up. Six (19.4%) patients showed recurrence of parasitaemia during follow-up, while the rest (80.6%) cleared the parasites and responded fully to treatment. All the failures were late treatment failures. Parasite genotyping showed that 1 (16.7%) of the 6 cases of late parasitaemia was due to reinfection while the rest (83.4%) were due to true recrudescence. During the follow-up period 22.6% of patients showed gametocytaemia. The high level of treatment failure as well as gametocytaemia necessitates the introduction of artesunate in this combination therapy.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Animals
  • Antimalarials / therapeutic use*
  • Artemisinins / therapeutic use
  • Artesunate
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Drug Combinations
  • Endemic Diseases / prevention & control
  • Endemic Diseases / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Malaria, Falciparum / drug therapy*
  • Malaria, Falciparum / epidemiology
  • Malaria, Falciparum / parasitology
  • Male
  • Parasite Egg Count
  • Parasitic Sensitivity Tests
  • Plasmodium falciparum / genetics
  • Prospective Studies
  • Pyrimethamine / therapeutic use*
  • Recurrence
  • Seasons
  • Sesquiterpenes / therapeutic use
  • Sudan / epidemiology
  • Sulfadoxine / therapeutic use*
  • Treatment Failure

Substances

  • Antimalarials
  • Artemisinins
  • Drug Combinations
  • Sesquiterpenes
  • fanasil, pyrimethamine drug combination
  • Artesunate
  • Sulfadoxine
  • Pyrimethamine