title: Improved efficacy with amodiaquine instead of chloroquine in sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine combination treatment of falciparum malaria in Uganda: experience with fixed-dose formulation.
abstract: Amodiaquine (AQ) is an affordable compound, chemically related to chloroquine (CQ) but often effective against CQ resistant Plasmodium falciparum. In Uganda, a pre-packed fixed-dose combination of CQ plus sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (CQ+SP) called Homapak is used in the home based management of fever program (HBM). We performed a single blind randomized trial to determine the efficacy of AQ+SP in comparison with the fixed-dose CQ+SP (Homapak) in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Ugandan children aged 6 months to 5 years. The study was done in 2004 at Walkuba Health Center, a sub-urban area in Jinja district, Uganda. Primary outcome was the day 14 per protocol clinical and parasitological response according to the WHO. A total of 183 children were included (mean age 28 months) and 90% completed 28 days of follow up. The day 14 adequate clinical and parasitological response was 70.9% for CQ+SP and 97.4% for AQ+SP (p<0.001). In those given CQ+SP, treatment failure rates for the 6 months to 2 years age group were much higher (48.2%) than in the older children (18.2%, p=0.004). The day 28 PCR adjusted parasitological failure rates were also higher in the CQ+SP (31.3%) than in the AQ+SP group (13.1%) (p=0.003), with a higher gametocyte carriage among the CQ+SP group. We conclude that the efficacy of AQ+SP was significantly superior to the fixed-dose CQ+SP (Homapak), particularly among the youngest children. Thus, AQ could be used instead of CQ in combination with SP to improve the effectiveness against falciparum malaria in Uganda.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. cobua@med.mak.ac.ug
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Obua
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aguttu
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Anokbonggo
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ogwal-Okeng
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chiria
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hellgren
mesh_terms: D000655:Amodiaquine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects*; D011739:Pyrimethamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013413:Sulfadoxine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014454:Uganda
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D004338:Drug Combinations; D000655:Amodiaquine; C001205:fanasil, pyrimethamine drug combination; D013413:Sulfadoxine; D002738:Chloroquine; D011739:Pyrimethamine