title: No benefits from combining chloroquine with artesunate for three days for treatment of Plasmodium falciparum in Guinea-Bissau.
abstract: The use of a combination of chloroquine and artesunate has been suggested for treatment of malaria in Africa. We used concomitant as well as sequential medication with these 2 drugs in relation to each drug separately for children infected with Plasmodium falciparum in Guinea-Bissau from March 2000 to November 2001. By block-randomization, 474 children with symptomatic malaria were divided into 4 groups and given either a total of 8 mg artesunate per kg bodyweight for 3 d, a total of 25 mg chloroquine base per kg bodyweight for 3 d, both drugs concomitantly for 3 d, or both drugs in sequence. All children were followed weekly for 5 weeks. On day 28, parasites had been detected in 40% of the children who were treated with artesunate only compared with 21% treated with chloroquine, 20% treated with artesunate in combination with chloroquine, and 16% treated with artesunate and chloroquine in sequence; on day 35 the corresponding percentages were 48%, 29%, 27%, and 24%, respectively. The outcome of the combination of chloroquine and artesunate in the doses studied was similar to the outcome of chloroquine monotherapy regardless of whether the 2 drugs are given concomitantly (relative risk [RR] = 0.93, 95% CI 0.56-1.53, P = 0.76) or in sequence (RR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.47-1.28, P = 0.32). Thus, neither an antagonistic, an additive, or a synergistic effect of the 2 drugs was indicated.
authors.affiliation: Projecto de Saúde de Bandim, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. pko@ks.vejleamt.dk
authors.forename: Poul-Erik
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Kofoed
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poulsen
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Có
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hedegaard
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aaby
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rombo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077332:Artesunate; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006169:Guinea-Bissau; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000188:drug therapy; D012008:Recurrence; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D000077332:Artesunate; D002738:Chloroquine