Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
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Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. · Sep 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialArtesunate plus sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for uncomplicated malaria in Kenyan children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Plasmodium falciparum has developed resistance to almost all routinely used antimalarial drugs. Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) has replaced chloroquine as first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria infection in Kenya but resistance to SP is already reported. The addition of artemisinin derivatives to SP may delay the development of drug resistance, improve cure rates, and reduce transmission. ⋯ Parasite clearance and gametocyte carriage were reduced significantly in both combination groups compared with SP alone. Three days of artesunate were required to reduce significantly the risk of treatment failure by day 28. However, the high background rate of parasitological failure with SP may make this combination unsuitable for widespread use in Kenya.