Multicentre study evaluating the non-inferiority of the new paediatric formulation of artesunate/amodiaquine versus artemether/lumefantrine for the management of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Senegal

BackgroundEmergence of artemisinin resistance has raised concerns that the most potent anti-malarial drug may be under threat. Artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) are, respectively, the first- and second-line treatments for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Côte d’Ivoire. Constant monitoring by National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) of drug efficacy is an important tool in establishing rational anti-malarial drug policies in Côte d’Ivoire.MethodsIn an open label, randomized controlled clinical trial, children and adults were randomized to receive AS-AQ or AL. Both drug regimens were given for three days, and follow-up was for 42 days. The primary endpoint was the 42-day cure rate and was defined as proportion of patients with PCR-corrected cure rate after 42 days of follow-up.ResultsA total of 383 patients who were attending the Anonkoua-koute (Abidjan), Petit Paris (Korhogo) and Libreville (Man) hospitals and presenting with symptomatic acute uncomplicated falciparum malaria were randomized to receive AS-AQ (188) and AL (195). The intention-to-treat analysis showed effectiveness rates of 94.7% and 96.4% for AS-AQ and AL, respectively on day 42. After adjustment for PCR, these rates were 96.8% and 99%, respectively. At day 42, in per-protocol analysis, Adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) PCR uncorrected was 97.8% and 97.4% for AS-AQ and AL, respectively. The PCR adjusted ACPR was 100% for each combination and both regimens were well tolerated.ConclusionsThis study has shown the high efficacy of AS-AQ in patients of all ages with acute uncomplicated falciparum malaria and AS-AQ was non-inferior to AL. Continuous efficacy monitoring is recommended.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Open-label, randomized, non-inferiority clinical trial of artesunate-amodiaquine versus artemether-lumefantrine fixed-dose combinations in children and adults with uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Côte d'Ivoire

Touré

Assi

N'Guessan

et al. 2014

“…AL was the first co-formulated fixed-combination ACT to become available, followed by ASAQ. The six-dose regimen of AL is highly effective and represents a challenging comparator for any new drug combination although the non-inferiority of ASAQ versus AL had been shown in an earlier multi-centric study [ 46 ]. Both ACT are still highly effective and well tolerated with no serious adverse event, supporting their continuous use for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Africa [ 47 , 48 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of anti-malarial drug efficacy in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in African children and adults using network meta-analysis

Youdom

Tahar

Basco

2017

Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and novel drug combinations are available and used in African countries to treat uncomplicated malaria. Network meta-analysis methods are rarely and poorly applied for the comparison of their efficacies. This method was applied on a set of randomized controlled trials to illustrate its usefulness. Methods:A literature review available in Pubmed was conducted in July 2016. Eligible studies, conducted in subSaharan Africa, published between 2002 and 2016, focused on randomized controlled trials of at least two artemisinin-based combinations to treat uncomplicated malaria in children and adults. Agglomerate data were: the number of PCR-corrected adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) on day 28, used as the primary endpoint in all interventions, the number of participants and the list of treatments. A Bayesian random effect meta-analysis using a binary outcome was the method to compare the efficacy. Ranking measure was used to obtain a hierarchy of the competing interventions. Results:In total, 76 articles were included; 13 treatment regimens were involved and tested in 36,001 patients. Using artemether-lumefantrine (AL) as the common comparator for the entire network, 12 relative treatment effects were estimated and indirect comparisons were obtained. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHAP) was shown to be more effective than AL (odds ratio [OR] = 1.92; 95% CI 1.30-2.82; 19,163 patients), ASAQ (OR = 1.70; 95% CI 1.10-2.64; 14,433 patients), and amodiaquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (AQSP): OR = 2.20; 95% CI 1.21-3.96; 8863 patients. Artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) was comparable to AL (OR = 1.11; 95% CI 0.84-1.45; 21,235 patients). No significant difference was found between artesunate and mefloquine (ASMQ) and AL (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 0.52-2.8; 13,824 participants). According to treatment ranking, among the WHO-recommended ACT medicines, DHAP was shown to be the most efficacious. Conclusions: Based on the available evidence, this study demonstrated the superiority of DHAP among currently recommended artemisinin-based combinations. The application of the methods described here may be helpful to gain better understanding of treatment efficacy and improve future decisions. However, more data are needed to allow robust conclusions about the results in comparison with novel drugs. Further surveillance of the efficacy of anti-malarial drugs and clinical trials are needed to closely follow the evolution of the epidemiology of drug-resistant malaria in Africa.

“…FD ASAQ was designed for dosing simplicity across four age/weight bands. The good efficacy record of FD ASAQ across most of Africa supports the use of this simplified dosing regimen [ 5 – 7 , 9 , 11 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As of 2014, ASAQ is available for use in 35 countries, including 32 in Africa [ 6 ]. Where tested in Africa, FD ASAQ has consistently achieved high efficacy, achieving Day 28 cure rates of ~93, 94 and 100% in children 60 months of age from Burkina Faso [ 6 ], Benin [ 5 ] and Central African Republic [ 10 ], respectively; ~98% in children <eight years of age in Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon and Senegal [ 7 ] and <five years of age in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) [ 8 ], as well as 100% in Nigerian children <12 years of age [ 9 ]. FD ASAQ was non-inferior to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in two trials, achieving cure rates exceeding ~95% and non-inferiority margins of 3% [ 8 , 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fixed dose artesunate amodiaquine – a phase IIb, randomized comparative trial with non-fixed artesunate amodiaquine

Ogutu

Juma

Obonyo

et al. 2014

BackgroundPharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) data are limited for artesunate (AS) and amodiaquine (AQ) in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum.MethodsFrom 2007-8, 54 P. falciparum-infected, Kenyan adults were assigned randomly fixed dose (FD) ASAQ (n = 26) or non-fixed (NF) ASAQ (n = 28). Total doses were 600 mg AS (both arms) + 1,620 mg (FD) or 1,836 mg (NF)AQ. Follow-up extended over 28 days. PK data were collected for AS, dihydroartemisinin (DHA), AS + DHA combined as DHA equivalents (DHAeq), AQ, desethylamodiaquine (DAQ),and their relationships assessed against the PD collected data consisting of parasitological efficacy, adverse events (AEs), and the Bazett’s corrected QTinterval (QTcB).ResultsMean AUC 0-72 of dihydroartemisinin equivalents (DHAeq) when administered as a fixed dose (FD) compared to NF dose were similar: 24.2 ±4.6 vs 26.4±6.9 µmol*h/L (p = 0.68) Parasite clearance rates were also similar after 24 hrs: 17/25 (68%) vs 18/28(64.3%) (p = 0.86),as well as at 48 hrs: 25/8 (100%)vs 26 (92.9%)/28 (p = 0.49). Mean FD vs NF DAQ AUC0-28 were 27.6±3.19 vs 32.7±5.53 mg*h/L (p = 0.0005). Two PCR-proven new infections occurred on Day (D) 28 for estimated, in vivo, DAQ minimum inhibitory concentrations of 15.2 and 27.5 ng/mL. Combining the FD and NF arms, the mean QTcB at D2+4 hrs increased significantly (p = 0.0059) vs baseline: 420 vs410 ms (∆ = 9.02 (95% confidence interval 2.72-15.31 ms), explained by falling heart rates, increasing DAQ concentrations and female sex in a general linear mixed effects model. Ten of 108 (9.26%) AEs (5/arm) reported by 37/54 (68.5%) patients were possibly or probably drug related. Severe, asymptomatic neutropaenia developed in 2/47 (4.25%) patients on D28: 574/µL (vsD0: 5,075/µL), and 777/µL (vsD0: 3,778/µL).ConclusionsTolerability of both formulations was good. For QTcB, a parameter for ECG modifications, increases were modest and due to rising DAQ concentrations and falling heart rates as malaria resolved. Rapid parasite clearance rates and no resistant infections suggest effective pharmacokinetics of both formulations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1475-2875-13-498) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.