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ABSTRACT: Background
Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affects almost all organs and has been associated with reduced intestinal absorption of medicines. However, very limited information is available on the pharmacokinetic properties of antimalarial drugs in this vulnerable population. We assessed artemether-lumefantrine (AL) clinical efficacy in children with SAM compared to those without.Methods
Children under 5 years of age with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were enrolled between November 2013 and January 2015 in Mali and Niger, one third with uncomplicated SAM and two thirds without. AL was administered under direct observation with a fat intake consisting of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF - Plumpy'Nut®) in SAM children, twice daily during 3 days. Children were followed for 42 days, with PCR-corrected adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) at day 28 as the primary outcome. Lumefantrine concentrations were assessed in a subset of participants at different time points, including systematic measurements on day 7.Results
A total of 399 children (360 in Mali and 39 in Niger) were enrolled. Children with SAM were younger than their non-SAM counterparts (mean 17 vs. 28 months, P < 0.0001). PCR-corrected ACPR was 100 % (95 % CI, 96.8-100 %) in SAM at both day 28 and 42, versus 98.8 % (96.4-99.7 %) at day 28 and 98.3 % (95.6-99.4 %) at day 42 in non-SAM (P = 0.236 and 0.168, respectively). Compared to younger children, children older than 21 months experienced more reinfections and SAM was associated with a greater risk of reinfection until day 28 (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.10 (1.04-4.22), P = 0.038). Day 7 lumefantrine concentrations were significantly lower in SAM than non-SAM (median 251 vs. 365 ng/mL, P = 0.049).Conclusions
This study shows comparable therapeutic efficacy of AL in children without SAM and in those with SAM when given in combination with RUTF, but a higher risk of reinfection in older children suffering from SAM. This could be associated with poorer exposure to the antimalarials as documented by a lower lumefantrine concentration on day 7.Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01958905 , registration date: October 7, 2013.
SUBMITTER: Denoeud-Ndam L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5079061 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Denoeud-Ndam Lise L Dicko Alassane A Baudin Elisabeth E Guindo Ousmane O Grandesso Francesco F Diawara Halimatou H Sissoko Sibiri S Sanogo Koualy K Traoré Seydou S Keita Sekouba S Barry Amadou A de Smet Martin M Lasry Estrella E Smit Michiel M Wiesner Lubbe L Barnes Karen I KI Djimde Abdoulaye A AA Guerin Philippe J PJ Grais Rebecca F RF Doumbo Ogobara K OK Etard Jean-François JF
BMC medicine 20161024 1
<h4>Background</h4>Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affects almost all organs and has been associated with reduced intestinal absorption of medicines. However, very limited information is available on the pharmacokinetic properties of antimalarial drugs in this vulnerable population. We assessed artemether-lumefantrine (AL) clinical efficacy in children with SAM compared to those without.<h4>Methods</h4>Children under 5 years of age with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were enrolled between N ...[more]