There are about 27 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Afghanistan. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
This will be a single-arm observational cohort study. Malaria patients with Plasmodium vivax and meeting study inclusion criteria, who give consent to be enrolled in the study, will have their G6PD status measured by the CareStart™ G6DP rapid diagnostic test (G6PD RDT), and primaquine prescribed according to the result. According to the G6PD RDT result, primaquine will be prescribed at 0.25mg/kg/day for 14 days (normal patients) or 0.75mg/kg weekly for eight weeks (deficient patients). All will receive treatment with chloroquine to clear asexual stages of infection. Patients will be reviewed at day 2, day 7 and day 14. At these visits patients will undergo a brief clinical assessment and a small blood sample will be taken for repeat haemoglobin measurement and dried blood spot for carboxyprimaquine measurement (day 7 and day 14 only). In general, antimalarial treatment will be unsupervised to reflect field conditions. However a subset of 25 G6PD normal patients at a single site will have each day of their primaquine treatment administered and observed at the treatment centre. This is to determine a calibration curve for primaquine pharmacokinetic studies. Dried blood spots will be stored appropriately. Day zero samples will be genotyped in Bangkok (MORU, Dr. Mallika Imwong) after DNA extraction. PCR-RFLP will be used to detect the allele associated with the Mediterranean variant of G6PD deficiency. In addition DNA extracts will be sent for more systematic genetic testing for known G6PD variants through existing collaborations with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. The day 7 and 14 dried blood spot samples will be analysed in the MORU pharmacology laboratory for primaquine and carboxyprimaquine concentrations, from which adherence to primaquine can be determined retrospectively, using the subset of 25 patients receiving directly observed therapy to calibrate the results. Funder: WellcomeTrust, Grant reference: 107548/Z/15/Z
The main determinant of primaquine efficacy is the total dose of primaquine administered, rather than the dosing schedule. Previous trials have demonstrated that the standard low dose regimen of primaquine (3.5 mg/kg total) fails to prevent relapses in many different endemic locations. For this reason the 2010 WHO antimalarial guidelines now recommend a high dose regimen of 7 mg/kg (equivalent to an adult dose of 30mg per day), although many countries still recommend lower doses for fear of causing more serious harm to unscreened G6PDd patients. Shorter courses of higher daily doses of primaquine have the potential to improve adherence and thus effectiveness without compromising efficacy. Primaquine also has relatively weak but clinically relevant asexual stage activity against P. vivax so larger daily doses may substantially augment chloroquine's blood stage activity at low levels of resistance. In Thailand directly observed primaquine (1mg/kg/day) administered over 7 days was well tolerated and reduced relapses by day 28 to 4%. This is encouraging but not definitive since many relapses present after one month. Longer follow-up is needed to distinguish whether relapse was prevented or deferred. If the efficacy, tolerability and safety of short-course, high-dose primaquine regimens can be assured across the range of endemic settings, along with reliable point-of-care G6PDd diagnostics, then this new primaquine regimen would be a major advance in malaria treatment improving adherence to and thus the effectiveness of anti-relapse therapy. Due to the long duration of standard primaquine treatment regimens, courses are difficult to supervise, are poorly adhered to and lack effectiveness. This proposed multicentre randomised clinical trial will provide evidence across a variety of endemic settings on the safety and efficacy of high dose-short course primaquine in G6PD normal patients. In a parallel single arm study the investigators will also gather safety data on the use of weekly primaquine in patients with G6PDd. This study aims to generate evidence that will directly inform global public health policy for the radical cure of P. vivax. A better understanding of the risks and benefits of primaquine is crucial in persuading policy makers and clinicians of the importance of the radical cure of vivax malaria that will reduce the parasite reservoir and decrease transmission. The funder is Medical Research Council, UK. Grant number: MRC Reference: MR/K007424/1
The Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment (DANA) was recently developed as a durable, portable, and "field-hardened" NeuroCognitive Assessment Tool. The purpose of this study is to compare the sensitivity of the DANA Brief exam with the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) battery currently used by the military after concussion. The primary hypothesis is that the DANA Brief exam will be more sensitive for detecting continued impaired cognitive performance than the ANAM during recovery after a concussion.
The purpose of this study is to compare the sensitivity of the DANA Rapid exam with the MACE cognitive score. The primary hypothesis is that the DANA Rapid exam will be more sensitive for detecting impaired cognitive performance than the MACE cognitive score in the setting of a clinical diagnosis of concussion at the point of injury in the combat setting. A secondary purpose of this study is to examine a serial performance on the DANA Rapid exam in those subjects diagnosed with a concussion. The secondary hypothesis is that the DANA Rapid exam will show improvements in performance during the recovery period after concussion.
In Afghanistan, studies over the past 15 years have shown a high degree of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to chloroquine. In 2003 the high failure rate of chloroquine against falciparum malaria led the national malaria treatment programme to switch its recommended first line drug treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in the form of Artesunate/Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (AS+SP). Second line drug treatment is oral quinine (7 days). For operational reasons, prior to recent studies (manuscript in preparation) there have been no molecular data on P. falciparum SP resistance markers from within the borders of Afghanistan. These studies have revealed early evidence of increasing SP resistance (resistance polymorphisms with double DHFR & triple DHPS mutations). The aim of this study is to conduct a focused, prospective study in Kunar for monitoring of the efficacy of the AS+SP combination in this province, along with molecular studies of isolates from recruited patients.
The purpose of the trial is to develop the evidence on relative efficacy of 3 available single-dose loperamide adjuncted regimens for watery diarrhea and a single-dose regimen, with and without loperamide, for dysentery/febrile diarrhea required for informing decisions among these regimens. Information from this study will be used to develop management guidelines for the diagnosis and management of travelers' diarrhea (TD) among deployed United States and United Kingdom military personnel.
Misoprostol, a prostaglandin E1 that induces uterine contractions, has been proposed as a low cost, easy-to-use option for prevention and treatment of Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH), especially in settings where injectable uterotonics are not yet available or feasible to use. A double-blinded individual randomized controlled study of misoprostol versus placebo in home deliveries in four districts in the Badakshan Province in Afghanistan. The study will recruit pregnant women who are likely to deliver at home. All women enrolled in the study will receive 600 mcg misoprostol to be self-administered as prophylaxis for PPH after delivery of their baby (ies) and before delivery of the placenta. Women who experience a PPH will be randomized to receive either: a) standard of care + 800 mcg misoprostol (four 200 mcg tablets) or b) standard of care + four placebo tablets resembling misoprostol. In this setting, standard of care is referral.
Malaria is a common, but decreasing, cause of fever in endemic areas. The use of rapid diagnostic tests could improve treatment of malaria at the local community level. Deployment of these tests is, however, a considerable cost. The aim of the study is to evaluate their effect on improving treatment of fever when used by Community Health Workers in Afghanistan. In phase I of the study, the hypothesis is that an RDT diagnosis deployed with standard training and support will improve the accuracy of treatment applied to fever by community health workers when compared to a diagnosis that is based on symptoms alone. In Phase II of the study, the hypothesis is that the accuracy of treatment can be improved by additional training and supportive interventions given to community health workers compared to those who have only had standard training.
Baseline information indicates there are measurable levels of hepatitis B SAg and low utilization of postpartum contraception, correct breastfeeding practices, or adherence to infant vaccination schedules in Kabul, Afghanistan. This intervention will randomize hospitals to assess the following aims: Aim 1: To determine whether the re-training and assignment of health care providers dedicated to intrapartum rapid testing and post-partum counseling will positively impact maternal and neonatal health indicators as compared to utilization of existing health providers for these services among women delivering in publish health maternity hospitals in Kabul, Afghanistan. Aim 2: To assess whether patients randomized to the intervention and their spouses perceive value in concentrated post-partum counseling. Aim 3: To investigate whether an intervention providing immediate post-partum provision of a long-acting family planning method would be feasible and acceptable to both men and women in Kabul, Afghanistan. Outcomes will be assessed through questionnaire responses and inspection of vaccination cards at six month intervals by trained study staff. The third aim will be addressed at the 12 month follow-up visit.
This is an open label two-arm randomized prospective study of two treatments for P. vivax malaria. Patients meeting study inclusion criteria will be enrolled and allocated either chloroquine alone or chloroquine plus primaquine (0.25mg/kg/day for 14 days). Patients will be followed-up for 1 year, with clinical and laboratory examinations at each visit. Patients with recurrent P. vivax infection will be treated with the same medication as initially randomized unless contraindicated. Recurrences in the two arms will be compared to estimate the risk of and mean duration to relapse, classify the relapse pattern as early or late relapse and to estimate the efficacy and safety of the study drugs. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis will be used as far as possible help to distinguish between relapse and re-infection. Samples for chloroquine pharmacokinetic analysis will be collected on day 7 from each study subject as well as on the day of recurrence if within 8 weeks of chloroquine