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Intermittent screening and treatment versus intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy: provider knowledge and acceptability.

ABSTRACT: Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) is associated with increased risks of maternal and foetal complications. The WHO recommends a package of interventions including intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), insecticide-treated nets and effective case management. However, with increasing SP resistance, the effectiveness of SP-IPT has been questioned. Intermittent screening and treatment (IST) has recently been shown in Ghana to be as efficacious as SP-IPT. This study investigates two important requirements for effective delivery of IST and SP-IPT: antenatal care (ANC) provider knowledge, and acceptance of the different strategies. Structured interviews with 134 ANC providers at 67 public health facilities in Ashanti Region, Ghana collected information on knowledge of the risks and preventative and curative interventions against MiP. Composite indicators of knowledge of SP-IPT, and case management of MiP were developed. Log binomial regression of predictors of provider knowledge was explored. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with fourteen ANC providers with some knowledge of IST to gain an indication of the factors influencing acceptance of the IST approach. 88.1% of providers knew all elements of the SP-IPT policy, compared to 20.1% and 41.8% who knew the treatment policy for malaria in the first or second/third trimesters, respectively. Workshop attendance was a univariate predictor of each knowledge indicator. Qualitative findings suggest preference for prevention over cure, and increased workload may be barriers to IST implementation. However, a change in strategy in the face of SP resistance is likely to be supported; health of pregnant women is a strong motivation for ANC provider practice. If IST was to be introduced as part of routine ANC activities, attention would need to be given to improving the knowledge and practices of ANC staff in relation to appropriate treatment of MiP. Health worker support for any MiP intervention delivered through ANC clinics is critical.

SUBMITTER: Smith Paintain L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3161113 | biostudies-other | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The World Health Organization recommends intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) alongside long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLIN) and case management for reducing the risks associated with malaria in pregnancy in areas of moderate-to-high transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to increasing Plasmodium falciparum resistance to SP, the search for alternative drugs or strategies to control malaria in pregnancy is a priority. We assessed the acceptability among pregnant women and health providers of intermittent screening and treatment (ISTp) and IPTp with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) as alternative strategies in the context of an un-blinded clinical trial. METHODS:Qualitative data were collected through ten focus group discussions with women participating in a randomized controlled trial to evaluate ISTp or IPTp with DP (multi-day regimen) versus IPTp with SP (single dose) in western Kenya. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 health providers working in the trial facilities and trial staff. RESULTS:Women appreciated the advantages of being tested with a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) at every ANC visit (although a few women disliked finger pricks) and accepted that they would not receive any antimalarial when tested RDT-negative. There were differences in women's experiences of the efficacy of antimalarials between the trial arms, with more women in the IPTp-SP arm reporting they had experienced malaria episodes. Side effects were experienced among women taking DP and SP. Although women and trial staff reported adherence to the full DP regimen within the trial, health providers were not confident that women would adhere to multi-day regimens in non-trial settings. Health providers recognized the advantages of ISTp in reducing unnecessary exposure to drugs, but lacked confidence in the reliability of RDTs compared to microscopy. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings indicate that, within a trial context, ISTp-DP and IPTp-DP were generally acceptable among both users and providers and were regarded as potentially valuable alternatives to IPTp-SP. Several challenges were identified the most important of which was concerns with achieving adherence to DP in non-trial settings, requiring operational feasibility studies in routine health systems. Policy adoption of ISTp with RDTs would require a major shift in thinking among health providers due to lack of confidence in RDTs.

Project description:BackgroundThe effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) may be compromised by the spread of resistance to sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) across Africa. But little information exists on alternative drugs for IPTp or alternative strategies for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy. Therefore, we have investigated whether screening with a rapid diagnostic test and treatment of those who are positive (IST) at routine antenatal clinic attendances is as effective and as safe as SP-IPTp in pregnant women.Methods and findingsDuring antenatal clinic sessions in six health facilities in Ghana held between March 2007 and September 2007, 3333 pregnant women who satisfied inclusion criteria were randomised into three intervention arms (1) standard SP-IPTp, (2) IST and treatment with SP or (3) IST and treatment with amodiaquine+artesunate (AQ+AS). All women received a long-lasting insecticide treated net. Study women had a maximum of three scheduled follow-up visits following enrollment. Haemoglobin concentration and peripheral parasitaemia were assessed between 36 and 40 weeks of gestation. Birth weight was measured at delivery or within 72 hours for babies delivered at home. Parasite prevalence at enrollment in primigravidae and in multigravidae was 29.6% and 10.2% respectively. At 36-40 weeks of gestation the prevalence of asymptomatic parasitaemia was 12.1% in study women overall and was very similar in all treatment groups. The risk of third trimester severe anaemia or low birth weight did not differ significantly between the three treatment groups regardless of gravidity. IST with AQ+AS or SP was not inferior to SP-IPTp in reducing the risk of low birth weight (RD = -1.17[95%CI; -4.39-1.02] for IST-SP vs. SP-IPTp and RD = 0.78[95%CI; -2.11-3.68] for IST-AQAS vs. SP-IPTp); third trimester severe anaemia (RD = 0.29[95%CI; -0.69-1.30] for IST-SP vs. SP-IPTp and RD = -0.36[95%CI;-1.12-0.44] for IST-AQAS vs. SP-IPTp).ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that in an area of moderately high malaria transmission, IST with SP or AS+AQ may be a safe and effective strategy for the control of malaria in pregnancy. However, it is important that these encouraging findings are confirmed in other geographical areas and that the impact of IST on placental malaria is investigated.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00432367 [NCT00432367].

Project description:BACKGROUND:The efficacy of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in pregnancy is threatened in parts of Africa by the emergence and spread of resistance to SP. Intermittent screening with a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and treatment of positive women (ISTp) is an alternative approach. METHODS AND FINDINGS:An open, individually randomized, non-inferiority trial of IPTp-SP versus ISTp was conducted in 5,354 primi- or secundigravidae in four West African countries with a low prevalence of resistance to SP (The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana). Women in the IPTp-SP group received SP on two or three occasions whilst women in the ISTp group were screened two or three times with a RDT and treated if positive for malaria with artemether-lumefantrine (AL). ISTp-AL was non-inferior to IPTp-SP in preventing low birth weight (LBW), anemia and placental malaria, the primary trial endpoints. The prevalence of LBW was 15.1% and 15.6% in the IPTp-SP and ISTp-AL groups respectively (OR = 1.03 [95% CI: 0.88, 1.22]). The mean hemoglobin concentration at the last clinic attendance before delivery was 10.97g/dL and 10.94g/dL in the IPTp-SP and ISTp-AL groups respectively (mean difference: -0.03 g/dL [95% CI: -0.13, +0.06]). Active malaria infection of the placenta was found in 24.5% and in 24.2% of women in the IPTp-SP and ISTp-AL groups respectively (OR = 0.95 [95% CI 0.81, 1.12]). More women in the ISTp-AL than in the IPTp-SP group presented with malaria parasitemia between routine antenatal clinics (310 vs 182 episodes, rate difference: 49.4 per 1,000 pregnancies [95% CI 30.5, 68.3], but the number of hospital admissions for malaria was similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS:Despite low levels of resistance to SP in the study areas, ISTp-AL performed as well as IPTp-SP. In the absence of an effective alternative medication to SP for IPTp, ISTp-AL is a potential alternative to IPTp in areas where SP resistance is high. It may also have a role in areas where malaria transmission is low and for the prevention of malaria in HIV positive women receiving cotrimoxazole prophylaxis in whom SP is contraindicated. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01084213 Pan African Clinical trials Registry PACT201202000272122.

Project description:Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) is a long-acting artemisinin combination treatment that provides effective chemoprevention and has been proposed as an alternative antimalarial drug for intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy (IPTp). Several pharmacokinetic studies have shown that dose adjustment may not be needed for the treatment of malaria in pregnancy with DP. However, there are limited data on the optimal dosing for IPTp. This study aimed to evaluate the population pharmacokinetics of piperaquine given as IPTp in pregnant women. Pregnant women were enrolled in clinical trials conducted in Kenya and Indonesia and treated with standard 3-day courses of DP, administered in 4- to 8-week intervals from the second trimester until delivery. Pharmacokinetic blood samples were collected for piperaquine drug measurements before each treatment round, at the time of breakthrough symptomatic malaria, and at delivery. Piperaquine population pharmacokinetic properties were investigated using nonlinear mixed-effects modeling with a prior approach. In total, data from 366 Kenyan and 101 Indonesian women were analyzed. The pharmacokinetic properties of piperaquine were adequately described using a flexible transit absorption (n = 5) followed by a three-compartment disposition model. Gestational age did not affect the pharmacokinetic parameters of piperaquine. After three rounds of monthly IPTp, 9.45% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8 to 26.5%) of pregnant women had trough piperaquine concentrations below the suggested target concentration (10.3 ng/ml). Translational simulations suggest that providing the full treatment course of DP at monthly intervals provides sufficient protection to prevent malaria infection. Monthly administration of DP has the potential to offer optimal prevention of malaria during pregnancy. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT01669941 and in the ISRCTN under number ISRCTN34010937.).

Project description:BACKGROUND:The control of malaria in pregnancy in much of Asia relies on screening asymptomatic women for malaria infection, followed by passive case detection and prevention with insecticide-treated nets. In 2012, Indonesia introduced screening for malaria by microscopy or rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) at pregnant women's first antenatal care (ANC) visit to detect and treat malaria infections regardless of the presence of symptoms. Acceptability among health providers and pregnant women of the current 'single screen and treat' (SSTp) strategy compared to two alternative strategies that were intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) and intermittent screening and treatment (ISTp) was assessed in the context of a clinical trial in two malaria endemic provinces of Eastern Indonesia. METHODS:Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with 121 health providers working in provision of antenatal care, heads of health facilities and District Health Office staff. Trial staff were also interviewed. Focus group discussions were conducted with 16 groups of pregnant women (N?=?106) to discuss their experiences of each intervention in the trial. RESULTS:Health providers and pregnant women were receptive to screening for malaria at every ANC visit due to the increased opportunity to detect and treat asymptomatic infections. A primary concern for providers was the accuracy and availability of RDTs used for screening in the SSTp and ISTp arms, which they considered less accurate than microscopy. Providers had reservations about giving anti-malarials presumptively as IPTp, due to concerns of causing potential harm to mother and baby and as a possible driver of drug resistance. Pregnant women were accepting of all three interventions. Women in the IPTp arm were happy to take anti-malarials presumptively to protect themselves and their babies against malaria. CONCLUSIONS:The findings indicate that, within a trial context, malaria screening of pregnant women at every ANC visit ISTp was an acceptable strategy among both health providers and pregnant women owing to an existing culture of screening and treatment. The adoption of IPTp however would require a considerable shift in health provider attitudes and a clear communication strategy. By contrast, pregnant women welcomed the opportunity to prevent malaria infections during pregnancy.

Project description:BackgroundThe spread of SP resistance may compromise the effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (MiP) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) across Africa. However, there is no recommended alternative medicine for IPTp or alternative strategy for prevention of MiP. This poses problems for the prevention of MiP. This study investigated, whether screening with a rapid diagnostic test for malaria at routine antenatal clinic attendances and treatment of only those who are positive (intermittent screening and treatment) with artemether-lumefantrine is as effective and safe as IPTp-SP in pregnant women.MethodsDuring antenatal clinic sessions at the General Hospital Calabar, Nigeria, held between October 2013 and November 2014, 459 pregnant women were randomized into either the current standard IPTp-SP or intermittent screening and treatment with artemether-lumefantrine (ISTp-AL). All women received a long-lasting insecticide-treated net at enrolment. Study women had a maximum of four scheduled visits following enrolment. Haemoglobin concentration and peripheral parasitaemia were assessed in the third trimester (36-40 weeks of gestation). Birth weight was documented at delivery or within a week for babies delivered at home.ResultsIn the third trimester, the overall prevalence of severe anaemia (Hb?<?8 g/dl) and moderate (8-10.9 g/dl) anaemia was 0.8 and 27.7%, respectively, and was similar in both treatment groups (p?=?0.204). The risk of third-trimester severe anaemia did not differ significantly between both treatment arms (risk difference -?1.75% [95% CI -?4.16 to 0.66]) although the sample was underpowered for this outcome due to several participants being unavailable to give a blood sample. The risk of third-trimester maternal parasitaemia was significantly lower in the ISTp-AL arm (RD -?3.96% [95% CI -?7.76 to -?0.16]). The risk of low birthweight was significantly lower in the ISTp-AL arm after controlling for maternal age, gravidity and baseline parasitaemia (risk difference -?1.53% [95% CI -?1.54 to -?1.15]). Women in the ISTp-AL arm complained of fever more frequently compared to women in the IPTp-SP arm (p?=?0.022).ConclusionsThe trial results suggest that in an area of high malaria transmission with moderate sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance, ISTp with artemether-lumefantrine may be an effective strategy for controlling malaria in pregnancy. Trial registration PACTR, PACTR201308000543272. Registered 29 April 2013, http://www.pactr.org/ATMWeb/appmanager/atm/atmregistry?dar=true&tNo=PACTR201308000543272.

Project description:Malaria during pregnancy results in adverse outcomes for mothers and infants. Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is the primary intervention aimed at reducing malaria infection during pregnancy. Although submicroscopic infection is common during pregnancy and at delivery, its impact throughout pregnancy on the development of placental malaria and adverse pregnancy outcomes has not been clearly established.Quantitative PCR was used to detect submicroscopic infections in pregnant women enrolled in an observational study in Blantyre, Malawi to determine their effect on maternal, foetal and placental outcomes. The ability of SP to treat and prevent submicroscopic infections was also assessed.2,681 samples from 448 women were analysed and 95 submicroscopic infections were detected in 68 women, a rate of 0.6 episodes per person-year of follow-up. Submicroscopic infections were most often detected at enrolment. The majority of women with submicroscopic infections did not have a microscopically detectable infection detected during pregnancy. Submicroscopic infection was associated with placental malaria even after controlling for microscopically detectable infection and was associated with decreased maternal haemoglobin at the time of detection. However, submicroscopic infection was not associated with adverse maternal or foetal outcomes at delivery. One-third of women with evidence of placental malaria did not have documented peripheral infection during pregnancy. SP was moderately effective in treating submicroscopic infections, but did not prevent the development of new submicroscopic infections in the month after administration.Submicroscopic malaria infection is common and occurs early in pregnancy. SP-IPT can clear some submicroscopic infections but does not prevent new infections after administration. To effectively control pregnancy-associated malaria, new interventions are required to target women prior to their first antenatal care visit and to effectively treat and prevent all malaria infections.

Project description:BackgroundPlasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections are important causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the Asia-Pacific region. We hypothesised that monthly intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) or intermittent screening and treatment (IST) with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is more effective in reducing malaria in pregnancy than the existing single screening and treatment (SST) strategy, which is used to screen women for malaria infections at the first antenatal visit followed by passive case detection, with management of febrile cases.MethodsWe did an open-label, three-arm, cluster-randomised, superiority trial in Sumba (low malaria transmission site) and Papua (moderate malaria transmission site), Indonesia. Eligible participants were 16-30 weeks pregnant. Clusters (antenatal clinics with at least ten new pregnancies per year matched by location, size, and malaria risk) were randomly assigned (1:1:1) via computer-generated lists to IPT, IST, or SST clusters. In IPT clusters, participants received the fixed-dose combination of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (4 and 18 mg/kg per day). In IST clusters, participants were screened with malaria rapid diagnostic tests once a month, whereas, in SST clusters, they were screened at enrolment only. In all groups, participants with fever were tested for malaria. Any participant who tested positive received dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine regardless of symptoms. The primary outcome was malaria infection in the mother at delivery. Laboratory staff were unaware of group allocation. Analyses included all randomly assigned participants contributing outcome data and were adjusted for clustering at the clinic level. This trial is complete and is registered with ISRCTN, number 34010937.FindingsBetween May 16, 2013, and April 21, 2016, 78 clusters (57 in Sumba and 21 in Papua) were randomly assigned to SST, IPT, or IST clusters (26 clusters each). Of 3553 women screened for eligibility, 2279 were enrolled (744 in SST clusters, 681 in IPT clusters, and 854 in IST clusters). At enrolment, malaria prevalence was lower in IST (5·7%) than in SST (12·6%) and IPT (10·6%) clusters. At delivery, malaria prevalence was 20·2% (128 of 633) in SST clusters, compared with 11·6% (61 of 528) in IPT clusters (relative risk [RR] 0·59, 95% CI 0·42-0·83, p=0·0022) and 11·8% (84 of 713) in IST clusters (0·56, 0·40-0·77, p=0·0005). Conditions related to the pregnancy, the puerperium, and the perinatal period were the most common serious adverse events for the mothers, and infections and infestations for the infants. There were no differences between groups in serious adverse events in the mothers or in their infants.InterpretationIST was associated with a lower prevalence of malaria than SST at delivery, but the prevalence of malaria in this group was also lower at enrolment, making interpretation of the effect of IST challenging. Further studies with highly sensitive malaria rapid diagnostic tests should be considered. Monthly IPT with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a promising alternative to SST in areas in the Asia-Pacific region with moderate or high transmission of malaria.FundingJoint Global Health Trials Scheme of the Medical Research Council, Department for International-Development, and the Wellcome Trust.

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Intermittent screening and treatment versus intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy: provider knowledge and acceptability.

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