title: The impact of intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine on the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in pregnancy.
abstract: The Roll Back Malaria initiatives were introduced to ensure that 60% of pregnant women receive intermittent preventive anti-malarial treatment by the end of 2005 in an attempt to halve the mortality from malaria by 2010. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in pregnant women on intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) compared with a control group. This comparative study involved testing the peripheral blood of pregnant women on IPT with SP and a control group that did not receive SP for the malaria parasite upon registration and at 34 weeks gestational age. The levels of parasitaemia in the intervention group upon registration (4.9%) and at 34 weeks (63.9%) were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from that of the control group (10%) and at 34 weeks gestation (68.3%). IPT with SP during pregnancy did not significantly reduce the prevalence of the malaria parasitaemia among the pregnant women in our environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, PMB 01129 Enugu, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Uchenna Anthony
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Umeh
authors.forename: Samuel N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Obi
authors.forename: Hyacinth E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Onah
authors.forename: Emmanuel Onyebuchi V
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Ugwu
authors.forename: Leonard Ogbonna
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Ajah
authors.forename: Chioma Roseline
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Umeh
authors.forename: Innocent Igwebuike
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Okafor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015995:Prevalence; D011739:Pyrimethamine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013413:Sulfadoxine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D004338:Drug Combinations; C001205:fanasil, pyrimethamine drug combination; D013413:Sulfadoxine; D011739:Pyrimethamine