title: Sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum to pyrimethamine in vivo and to sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine combination in vitro in pregnant women of northern Nigeria.
abstract: The in-vivo response of Plasmodium falciparum to a single dose of 25 mg pyrimethamine was evaluated in pregnant women in a semi-rural area of Zaria, northern Nigeria. Forty-four women were enrolled in the study and followed up for 14 days. Thirty-one (70%) of the women had cleared their parasitaemia by Day 7 and they remained parasite negative throughout the 14-day period of observation. The MPCT was 2.48 +/- 0.76 days. Thirteen (30%) of the 44 women were parasite positive either on Day 7 (7.16%) or Day 14 (6.14%) and re-treatment with a curative dose of chloroquine (25 mg kg-1 over 3 days) resulted in complete parasite clearance. Of the eight P. falciparum isolates successfully cultured from these women, seven (87.5%) were highly sensitive and one was resistant in vitro to the SDX/PYR combination.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Okoyeh
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lege-Oguntoye
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Emembolu
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sarki
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Slotboom
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009549:Nigeria; D010298:Parity; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011739:Pyrimethamine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013413:Sulfadoxine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D013413:Sulfadoxine; D011739:Pyrimethamine