How antimalarial drug resistance affects post-treatment prophylaxis

Abstract Slowly eliminated antimalarial drugs suppress malaria reinfections for a period of time determined by the dose, the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug, and the susceptibility of the infecting parasites. This effect is called post-treatment prophylaxis (PTP). The clinical benefits of pre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Malaria Journal
Main Author: White Nicholas J
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: BMC 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-7-9
https://doaj.org/article/a614f15c537b4372999da30982321ce8
Description
Summary:Abstract Slowly eliminated antimalarial drugs suppress malaria reinfections for a period of time determined by the dose, the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug, and the susceptibility of the infecting parasites. This effect is called post-treatment prophylaxis (PTP). The clinical benefits of preventing recrudescence (reflecting treatment efficacy) compared with preventing reinfection (reflecting PTP) need further assessment. Antimalarial drug resistance shortens PTP. While blood concentrations are in the terminal elimination phase, the degree of shortening may be estimated from measurements of in-vitro susceptibility and the terminal elimination half-life. More information is needed on PTP following intermittent preventive treatments, and on the relationship between the duration of PTP and immunity, so that policy recommendations can have a firmer evidence base.