Therapeutic efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in North-Eastern Tanzania

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dc.creatorShayo, A.
dc.creatorMandara, C. I.
dc.creatorShahada, F.
dc.creatorBuza, J.
dc.creatorLemnge, M. M.
dc.creatorIshengoma, D. S.
dc.date2020-03-20T10:43:07Z
dc.date2020-03-20T10:43:07Z
dc.date2014
dc.date.accessioned2022-10-20T13:09:15Z
dc.date.available2022-10-20T13:09:15Z
dc.descriptionFull Text Article. Also available at: http://www.malariajournal.com/content/13/1/376
dc.descriptionThe World Health Organization recommends that regular efficacy monitoring should be undertaken by all malaria endemic countries that have deployed artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). Although ACT is still efficacious for treatment of uncomplicated malaria, artemisinin resistance has been reported in South East Asia suggesting that surveillance needs to be intensified by all malaria endemic countries. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Muheza district of north-eastern Tanzania, an area where the transmission has significantly declined in recent years. Eighty eight children (aged 6 months to 10 years) with uncomplicated falciparum malaria were recruited into the study. The patients were treated with standard doses of AL and followed up for 28 days. The primary end point was parasitological cure on day 28 while the secondary end points included: improvement in haemoglobin levels and occurrence, and severity of adverse events. A total of 163 febrile patients were screened, out of which 88 patients (56 under-fives and 32 aged ≥5 years) were enrolled and 79 (89.8%) completed the 28 days of follow-up. There were no cases of early treatment failure whilst 40 (78.4%) under-fives and 21(75.0%) older children had adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) before PCR correction. Late clinical failure was seen in 5.6% (n = 51) and 3.6% (n = 28) of the under-fives and older children respectively; while 15.7% and 21.6% had late parasitological failure in the two groups respectively. After PCR correction, ACPR was 100% in both groups. Reported adverse events included cough (49.7%), fever (20.2%), abdominal pain (10.1%), diarrhoea (1.3%), headache (1.3%) and skin rashes (1.3%). This study showed that AL was safe, well-tolerated and efficacious for treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria. Since Muheza has historically been a hotspot of drug resistance (e.g. pyrimethamine, chloroquine, and SP), surveillance needs to be continued to detect future changes in parasite sensitivity to ACT.
dc.identifierShayo, A., Mandara, C. I., Shahada, F., Buza, J., Lemnge, M. M., & Ishengoma, D. S. (2014). Therapeutic efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in North-Eastern Tanzania. Malaria journal, 13(1), 376.
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/2271
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/2271
dc.languageen
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.subjectEfficacy
dc.subjectSafety
dc.subjectArtemether-lumefantrine
dc.subjectFalciparum malaria
dc.subjectTanzania
dc.subjectMalaria
dc.subjectArtemisinin Combination Therapy
dc.subjectACT
dc.subjectWorld Health Organization
dc.subjectMalaria treatment
dc.subjectArtemisinin resistance
dc.subjectAntimalarial Treatment
dc.subjectMalaria endemic
dc.subjectNational malaria cotrol programme
dc.titleTherapeutic efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in North-Eastern Tanzania
dc.typeArticle

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