Abstract
BackgroundMalaria is a major public health problem in endemic countries including Sudan, where about 75% of populations are at risk. Due to widespread of chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is currently treatment of choice for malaria in the vast majority of malaria-endemic countries. This systematic review and meta-analysis is performed to obtain an overall stronger evidence of the outcomes of ACT in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria from the existing literature in Sudan.MethodsThe preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis statement were used to select studies to be included in this review. A computerized systematic strategy was adopted to search articles from PubMed, Google Scholar and Science Direct databases. Unpublished materials were also included. Open Meta-Analyst software was used to perform the meta-analysis. Random effects model was used to combine the included studies and the heterogeneity of studies was assessed using Cochrane Q and I2 (χ2 = 73.05, df (19), P < 0.001 and I2 = 73.99).ResultsTwenty studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria (ACT in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria) and were included in the final analysis with a total number of 4070 participants. Malaria treatment outcome was assessed using World Health Organization guidelines. Adequate clinical and parasitological response was used to assess treatment success at the 28th day. Treatment success of all combined studies was 98% [(95% CI 97.2–98.8%), P < 0.001]. Treatment success was higher in malaria patients treated with artemether + lumefantrine (AL) than patients treated with artesunate + sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine (AS + SP) (98.9% (95% CI 98.4–99.4%) vs 97.1% (95% CI 95.5–98.6%), P < 0.001). Eleven studies reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to ACT (184 participants out of 3957 (4.65%). The ADRs were mild and resolved spontaneously. There was no severe ADRs or deaths.ConclusionBased on this review, the overall malaria treatment success was high (98%). AL regimen showed higher efficacy compared to AS + SP. The overall regimens were associated with mild low rates ADRs.
Highlights
Malaria is a major public health problem in endemic countries including Sudan, where about 75% of populations are at risk
The primary objective of this review was the efficacy of artemisininbased combination therapy (ACT) measured as treatment success at day 28 for uncomplicated malaria caused by P. falciparum, while the frequency of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was the secondary objective
Treatment outcomes in all studies were assessed using clinical and parasitological criteria according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines [10,11,12, 35]
Summary
Malaria is a major public health problem in endemic countries including Sudan, where about 75% of populations are at risk. Due to widespread of chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, artemisininbased combination therapy (ACT) is currently treatment of choice for malaria in the vast majority of malaria-endemic countries. Diagnosis and timely treatment of malaria with an effective drug is an important strategy to control the disease [2] This goal is hampered by the emergence of anti-malarial drug resistance which is one of the main challenges to controlling and eliminating malaria [3]. Owing to widespread chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is currently the adopted treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in most endemic countries [4]. Sudan changed its policy for treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria from chloroquine to ACT in 2004, since when artesunate + sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine (AS + SP) and artemether–lumefantrine (AL) is, respectively, the first and second-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria [6]
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