title: Variable piperaquine exposure significantly impacts protective efficacy of monthly dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for the prevention of malaria in Ugandan children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anti-malarial chemoprevention with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA/PQ) is a promising tool for malaria control, but its efficacy in children may be limited by inadequate drug exposure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children were enrolled in a non directly-observed trial of DHA/PQ chemoprevention in a high transmission setting in Uganda. Children were randomized at 6 months of age to no chemoprevention (n = 89) or monthly DHA/PQ (n = 87) and followed through 24 months of age, with pharmacokinetic sampling performed at variable times following monthly dosing of DHA/PQ. A previously published pharmacokinetic model was used to estimate piperaquine (PQ) exposure in each child, and associations between PQ exposure and the protective efficacy (PE) of DHA/PQ were explored.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence of malaria was 6.83 and 3.09 episodes per person year at risk in the no chemoprevention and DHA/PQ arms, respectively (PE 54 %, 95 % CI 39-66 %, P < 0.001). Among children randomized to DHA/PQ, 493 pharmacokinetic samples were collected. Despite nearly 100 % reported adherence to study drug administration at home, there was wide variability in PQ exposure, and children were stratified into three groups based on average PQ exposure during the intervention that was determined by model generated percentiles (low, n = 40; medium, n = 37, and high, n = 10). Gender and socioeconomic factors were not significantly associated with PQ exposure. In multivariate models, the PE of DHA/PQ was 31 % in the low PQ exposure group (95 % CI 6-49 %, P = 0.02), 67 % in the medium PQ exposure group (95 % CI 54-76 %, P < 0.001), and 97 % in the high PQ exposure group (95 % CI 89-99 %, P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The protective efficacy of DHA/PQ chemoprevention in young children was strongly associated with higher drug exposure; in children with the highest PQ exposure, monthly DHA/PQ chemoprevention was nearly 100 % protective against malaria. Strategies to ensure good adherence to monthly dosing and optimize drug exposure are critical to maximize the efficacy of this promising malaria control strategy.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Current Controlled Trials Identifier NCT00948896.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. sundellk@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sundell
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, USA. pras.jagannathan@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Prasanna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jagannathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, USA. liusheng.huang@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Liusheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda. vbigira@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bigira
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda. kapisij@gmail.com.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kapisi
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda. marymkakuru@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mary M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kakuru
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutics, University of California, San Francisco, USA. rada.savic@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Rada
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Savic
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda. mkamya@infocom.co.ug.
authors.forename: Moses R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kamya
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, USA. grant.dorsey@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dorsey
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, USA. fran.aweeka@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aweeka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D018890:Chemoprevention / Q000379:methods; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control; D011804:Quinolines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D011897:Random Allocation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014454:Uganda; D010879:Piperazines
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins; C039060:artenimol; C034759:piperaquine; D011804:Quinolines; D010879:Piperazines