Intermittent Preventive Therapy with Sulfadoxine‐Pyrimethamine during Pregnancy: Seeking Information on Optimal Dosing Frequency

Abstract

The malaria-control community has long recommended a of interventions for African settings for both reduction in transmission through vector control and prevention and treatment of infection and disease with appropriate antimalarial drugs. In malaria-endemic countries in Africa malaria during pregnancy has a major impact on both the womans health and the newborns birth weight particularly in the first and second pregnancies. Strategies to control malaria in pregnant African women follow this package approach and rely on transmission prevention (especially with insecticide-treated bed nets [ITNs]) case management of malaria illness (a relatively uncommon event in these women who have substantial acquired immunity) and intermittent preventive therapy of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp) to prevent the adverse consequence of usually asymptomatic placental infections. IPTp involves the administration of a curative course of an antimalarial drug at predefined intervals after quickening (the mothers recognition of fetal movement which occurs early during the second trimester) and given at least 1 month apart without determining whether the woman has parasitemia. (excerpt)