Intermittent preventive therapy for malaria in pregnancy: is sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine the right drug?
Pregnant women are at particularly high risk for morbidity and mortality from malaria, and pregnancy can markedly affect drug pharmacokinetics, yet the pharmacokinetics of antimalarial drugs in pregnancy has been little studied. An important malaria-control measure in Africa is intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) during pregnancy. We discuss IPT with SP in light of several concerns and highlight recent findings from a pharmacokinetic study of SP in this population.
Parikh
S
S
Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA. sparikh@medsfgh.ucsf.edu
Rosenthal
P J
PJ
D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000517:prevention & control; D011739:Pyrimethamine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D013413:Sulfadoxine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
D000962:Antimalarials; D004338:Drug Combinations; C001205:fanasil, pyrimethamine drug combination; D013413:Sulfadoxine; D011739:Pyrimethamine