Plasmodium vivax can form dormant liver stages that reactivate weeks or months following an acute infection. Recurrent infections can be associated with a febrile illness, a cumulative risk of severe anaemia, and even mortality. In co-endemic areas the risk of recurrence after both P. vivax and P. falciparum infections can be over 50% within 3 months. The only drug we have to kill P. vivax hypnozoites is primaquine which is currently given as a 14 day regimen. In Papua a retrospective study found very low effectiveness for unsupervised treatment. If true this has profound effects on treatment policy, suggesting that greater efforts are needed to encourage adherence to treatment. We propose a cluster randomized, controlled, open label trial to assess the effectiveness of unsupervised versus supervised primaquine treatment in patients with uncomplicated malaria. Since the risk of recurrent P. vivax is high in patients with either P. vivax or P. falciparum, both infections will be included in the study. The study will be conducted in Mimika, in the southern part of Papua Province, Indonesia. Participants will be enrolled at village health posts and provided with schizontocidal treatment plus primaquine radical cure which will be either supervised or unsupervised depending on which cluster the clinic is in. Participants will be followed up for 6 months and assessed in regular intervals for the presence of patent and sub-patent malaria. The outcome of the study will contribute to an improved treatment scheme for uncomplicated malaria in this area.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
420
Timika Research Facility
Timika, Timika-Papua, Indonesia
The incidence risk of symptomatic P. vivax malaria over 6 months in patients enrolled with any malaria infection
Time frame: 6 months
The incidence risk of symptomatic P. vivax malaria over 6 months in patients enrolled with P. vivax malaria infection
Time frame: 6 months
The incidence risk of symptomatic P. vivax malaria over 6 months in patients enrolled with P. falciparum malaria infection
Time frame: 6 months
The incidence rate of symptomatic P. vivax malaria over 6 months in patients enrolled with malaria due to P. falciparum or P. vivax
Time frame: 6 months
The incidence rate of symptomatic P. vivax malaria over 6 months in patients enrolled with P. vivax malaria
Time frame: 6 months
The incidence rate of symptomatic P. vivax malaria over 6 months in patients enrolled with P. falciparum malaria
Time frame: 6 months
The incidence risk of patent or sub-microscopic P. vivax malaria over six months in patients enrolled with a malaria (sub-group analysis for patients recruited with P. vivax infection and P. falciparum infection)
Time frame: 6 months
The incidence risk of any patent or sub-microscopic parasitaemia due to P. vivax or P. falciparum over six months in patients
Time frame: 6 months
The proportion of patients vomiting their medication within 1 hour of administration
Time frame: 1 hour
• The proportion of patients vomiting any of their primaquine doses during the 14 day supervised course
Time frame: 14 days
• The proportion of adverse events and serious adverse events over 6 months in all patients
Time frame: 6 months
• The incidence risk of severe anaemia (Hb<7g/dl) and/or the risk for blood transfusion over 6 months
Time frame: 6 months
• The incidence risk of an acute drop in Hb >5g/dl within 14 days of starting primaquine treatment
Time frame: 14 days
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