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Inferiority of single-dose sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine intermittent preventive therapy for malaria during pregnancy among HIV-positive Zambian women.

Author(s): Gill CJ, Macleod WB, Mwanakasale V, Chalwe V, Mwananyanda L, Champo D, Mukwamataba D, Chilengi R, Thea DM, Hamer DH

Affiliation(s): Department of International Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA. cgill@bu.edu

Publication date & source: 2007-12-01, J Infect Dis., 196(11):1577-84. Epub 2007 Oct 25.

Publication type: Comment; Comparative Study; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization advocates 2-3 doses of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria (SP IPTp). The optimal number of doses and the consequences of single-dose therapy remain unclear.METHODS: Data were from a randomized, controlled study of human immunodeficiency virus-positive Zambian women comparing monthly versus 2-dose SP IPTp. We compared maternal and neonatal birth outcomes as a function of how many doses the mothers received (1 to > or =4 doses).RESULTS: Of 387 deliveries, 34 received 1 dose of SP. Single-dose SP was significantly associated with higher proportions of maternal anemia, peripheral and cord blood parasitemia, infant prematurity, and low birth weight. SP conferred dose-dependent benefits, particularly in the transition from 1 to 2 doses of SP. Women randomized to the standard 2-dose regimen were much more likely to receive only 1 dose than were women randomized to monthly IPT (relative risk, 16.4 [95% confidence interval, 4.0-68.3]).CONCLUSIONS: Single-dose SP was a common result of trying to implement the standard 2-dose regimen and was inferior to all other dosing regimens. At a programmatic level, this implies that monthly SP IPTp may ultimately be more effective than the standard regimen by reducing the risk of inadvertently underdosing mothers.

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