Malaria
Conditions
Brief summary
Despite all efforts, malaria remains a public health concern, in particular in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The National Malaria Control program recommends artemisinin-based combination treatments (ACTs), in particular artesunate-amodiaquine or artemether-lumefrantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. Previous studies indicated that ACTs are still effective, with efficacy above the required threshold of 90%. It is required to assess regularly the efficacy of antimalarial drugs. I In case of increasing failure rates, alternative options can be decided ontime. The purpose of this trial is to assess efficacy and safety of artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ Winthrop®) and artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem Dispersible®) at day 28 in the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in six surveillance sites around DRC.
Detailed description
This is a phase IV, randomized, open label, 2-arm trial. It will be performed in six malaria sentinel site around the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Children aged 6 to 59 months with confirmed Plasmodium falciparum uncomplicated malaria will be enrolled after informed consent granted by a parent or guardian. They will be randomized to receive either artesunate-amodiaquine or artemether lumefrantrine during 3 days (directly observed treatment) and then followed up until day 28. At each visit, clinical examination will be done and malaria testing as well. Hemoglobin level will be measured on recruitment day and then every two weeks until day 28.
Interventions
Artemisinin-based combination treatment
DRUGArtemether-lumefantrine
Artemisinin-based combination treatment
Sponsors
University of Kinshasa
World Health Organization
Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale. Kinshasa, République Démocratique du Congo
Ministry of Public Health, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Months to 59 Months
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* children aged 6 to 59 months * monoinfection with Plasmodium falciparum with asexual parasite count of 2,000 to 200,000/µL * axillary temperature ≥ 37.5 °C * ability to swallow oral medication * ability and willingness to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study and to comply with the study visit schedule; * informed consent from a parent or aguardian * living within the study catchment area
Exclusion criteria
* presence of general danger signs in children aged under 5 years or signs of severe falciparum malaria according to the definitions of WHO; * body weight \< 5kg * hemoglobin level \< 5g/ dL or hematocrit \< 15% * presence of severe malnutrition * presence of febrile conditions due to diseases other than malaria (e.g. measles, acute lower respiratory tract infection, severe diarrhoea with dehydration) or other known underlying chronic or severe diseases (e.g. cardiac, renal and hepatic diseases, HIV/AIDS); * regular medication, which may interfere with antimalarial pharmacokinetics; * malaria treatment within 2 days prior to recruitment * history of hypersensitivity reactions or contraindications to any of the medicines being tested or used as alternative treatment
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PCR adjusted efficacy | 28 days | absence of fever and negative blood smear during the follow-up until day 28 and new infections occurred during the follow-up. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Proportion of adverse events and serious adverse events | 28 days | Number of adverse events and serious adverse events that every participant will experience |
| Proportion of participants with positive blood smear at day 3 | 3 days | Number of participants who will still have parasites on day 3 |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Presence of Plasmodium falciparum resistance markers and deletion of HRP2 | 28 days | Resistance markers and deletion of HRP2 will be assessed |
Countries
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Outcome results
None listed