Ethiopia Malaria Therapeutic Efficacy Study

Malaria Clinical Trial

Official title: Ethiopia In-vivo Efficacy Study 2009: Evaluating the Efficacy of Artemether-lumefantrine for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium Falciparum Infection and Either Artemether-lumefantrine or Chloroquine for P. Vivax Infection

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

In this stdy, patients aged above 6 months with symptomatic malaria presenting to health centers will be enrolled for treatment with artemether-lumefantrine for P. falciparum infection, and either artemether-lumefantrine or chloroquine for P. vivax infection. Clinical, parasitologic, and hematologic parameters will be monitored for P. falciparum and P. vivax infection over a 42-day follow-up period, which will be used to evaluate drug efficacy. Results from this research study will be used to assist Ethiopia in assessing their current national malaria drug policies.

Clinical Trial Description

Following the rapid development of significant drug resistance of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) to chloroquine and then sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (the first line therapy in Ethiopia 1998-2004), artemether- lumefantrine (Coartem or AL) was adopted as first line therapy in Ethiopia in 2004. According to the current national malaria diagnosis and treatment guidelines, first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum infection is AL. First-line treatment for Plasmodium vivax (Pv) is with chloroquine (CQ) alone without primaquine therapy in malarious areas. For all clinical infection without laboratory confirmation, AL which is effective against both Pf and Pv is the first-line treatment. Thus, in Ethiopia, where treatment for malaria without laboratory confirmation occurs frequently, Pv is often treated with AL as the standard of care. Furthermore, World Health Organization (WHO) recommends AL for the treatment of Pv, where AL has been adopted as first-line treatment for Pf. Now with wide-spread use of AL and CQ, we propose to conduct an antimalarial efficacy study to monitor the effectiveness of these therapies in Ethiopia and to determine how efficacious these drugs remain. This information will inform future policy changes with respect to appropriate antimalarial strategies.

The simplest and most universally accepted measure of testing for antimalarial drug treatment efficacy, the standardized procedures outlined in the World Health Organization Assessment and monitoring of antimalarial drug efficacy for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria and the WHO Monitoring antimalarial drug resistance, will be followed. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Malaria

• NCT number: NCT01052584
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 2009
• Completion date: January 2010