The Journal of infectious diseases
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Comment Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Inferiority of single-dose sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine intermittent preventive therapy for malaria during pregnancy among HIV-positive Zambian women.
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. ⋯ 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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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Two-dose versus monthly intermittent preventive treatment of malaria with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in HIV-seropositive pregnant Zambian women.
Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp) reduces placental infection, maternal anemia, and low birth weight (LBW). However, the optimal dosing regimen in settings in which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is highly prevalent among pregnant women remains controversial. ⋯ In an area of mesoendemicity in Zambia, monthly SP IPTp was not more efficacious than the standard 2-dose regimen for the prevention of placental malaria or adverse birth outcomes. IPTp policy recommendations need to take into account local malaria transmission patterns and the prevalence of HIV.