Combination Therapy for Uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria in Ugandan Children

Abstract

isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN37517549.

Evaluation of Adverse Drug Reactions to Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy in a Nigeria University Community

“…There was no report of life-threatening adverse drug reactions that could warrant termination of treatment or drug use. This has confirmed reports from China, Thailand, South East Asia and other Africa countries where ACTs have been used extensively and were found to be relatively safe and well tolerated 5,6,7,8 . Most respondents that experienced adverse reactions with ACT did not report those reactions to any health care professional.…”

“…Informal use of antimalarial drugs may increase the risk of incorrect dosing, inappropriate treatment, occurrence of adverse drug reactions and interaction of different medicines, which could have a negative impact on antimalarial treatment safety 5,6,7,8 . Increasing parasite resistance and failure of single drug treatment of malaria in many endemic countries of Africa 9 has led to a widespread promotion of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as a strategy for effective management of Plasmodium falciparum malaria 10 .…”

Efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine dispersible tablets compared with crushed commercial tablets in African infants and children with uncomplicated malaria: a randomised, single-blind, multicentre trial

“…[11][12][13][14][15][16] For uncorrected day-7 cure rates, our fi ndings confi rm the results from Falade and co-workers 11 who used a non-comparative study design.…”

“…To date, no clinically signifi cant cardiovascular toxic eff ects have been seen with the combination. 10 In African children, effi cacy of artemether-lumefantrine at day 28 after treatment is consistently more than 90%, [11][12][13][14][15][16] even with unsupervised administration. 17,18 However, many young children cannot swallow whole tablets, and the bitter taste of the crushed commercial tablet added to water could compromise tolerability.…”

Anti-Malarial Targeting and Dosing Practices among Health Workers at Lower Level Health Facilities in Uganda

“…Majority of the patients with uncomplicated malaria were prescribed an Artemesinin based Combination Therapy (ACT), precisely Artemether Lumefantrine (AL), which is the recommended first line therapy for uncomplicated malaria in Uganda [10]. This is an encouraging finding given the high burden of malaria in many parts of the country and the efficacy of ACTs for uncomplicated malaria [13]- [16].…”