Amodiaquine Safe, Effective Malaria Treatment During Pregnancy, Study Says

Amodiaquine is safe and effective at treating malaria in pregnant women, according to a study published in the Oct. 14 issue of the journal Lancet, Reuters reports (Reuters, 10/12). Although most African countries are adopting artemisinin-based combination therapies as their first-line malaria treatment, there is little research to show that they are safe for pregnant women. Harry Tagbor of St. Theresa's Hospital in Nkoranza, Ghana, and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine aimed to determine whether amodiaquine as a monotherapy or as a combination therapy with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine can be used by pregnant women until ACTs have been proven safe and effective during pregnancy. The researchers divided 900 pregnant women who had malaria into four treatment groups -- amodiaquine, SP, amodiaquine plus SP and chloroquine. The researchers found that after 28 days, amodiaquine plus SP failed to eliminate the malaria parasite in 0% of the participants, while amodiaquine, SP and chloroquine had failure rates of 3%, 11% and 14%, respectively (LSHTM release, 10/12). According to the researchers, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and weakness were the most commonly reported side effects (Reuters, 10/12).