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MALARIAPhase 4NCT05070520

Efficacy of Antimalarial Drugs Used for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Malaria, Plasmodium Falciparum, at the Agadez, Gaya and Tessaoua Sentinel Sites

A Phase 4 study testing Artemether-lumefantrine in people with MALARIA, run by Programme National de Lutte contre le Paludisme, Niger at 1 site in Niger.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

In Niger, malaria is a major public health problem. It is the main cause of morbidity and mortality among children. The management of malaria cases is based on the principle of early diagnosis and rapid treatment with effective drugs. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 3 months to 15 years
Conditions the study is for
MALARIA
What is being tested?
Artemether-lumefantrine
How many people
259 participants
Where
1 siteNiger
Study dates
1 Sep 2020to 28 Oct 2020
Phase
Phase 4
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 3 months to 15 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Brachial circumference (BC) > 125 mm and P/T z-score > -2 Standard Deviation (SD)
  • Age between three months and fifteen years,
  • Monospecific Plasmodium falciparum infestation detected by microscopy;
  • Parasitemia between 1000 and 200000 asexual parasitic forms/µl ;
  • Axillary temperature ≥37.5° or history of fever in the past 24 hours ;
  • Ability to take oral medications;
  • Ability and willingness to adhere to the protocol for the duration of the study and to adhere to the visit schedule ;
  • Informed consent of the accompanying person (guardian or parent).

Who cannot join

  • Inability to take oral medications
  • History of antimalarial treatment in the past two weeks, including sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SPAQ) for seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC)
  • Lack of consent for pregnancy testing
  • Presence of general danger signs in children under five years of age or signs of severe P. falciparum malaria as defined by World Health Organization (WHO);
  • Mixed infestation or monospecific infestation with another Plasmodium species, detected by microscopic examination;
  • Severe malnutrition defined by a BC <125 mm AND P/T z-score < -3 Standard Deviation (SD)
Show all 11Show fewer
  • Moderate malnutrition defined by a BC <125 mm AND a -3 ≤P/T z-score < -2 SD
  • Febrile condition due to illnesses other than malaria (e.g., measles, acute lower respiratory tract infection, severe diarrheal illness with dehydration) or other known chronic or severe underlying illnesses (e.g., cardiac, renal, or liver disease, HIV/AIDS) ;
  • Regular use of medications that may interfere with antimalarial pharmacokinetics;
  • History of hypersensitivity or contraindication to any of the drugs tested or used as replacement therapy;
  • Lack of informed consent from the patient or accompanying person

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Niger1 site
  • Programme National de Lutte Contre Le Paludisme

    Niamey, 00227

Other trials in Niger

About this study

In Niger, malaria is a major public health problem. It is the main cause of morbidity and mortality among children. The management of malaria cases is based on the principle of early diagnosis and rapid treatment with effective drugs. It is confronted with the appearance of strains resistant to antimalarial drugs, hence the need to monitor antimalarial drug sensitivity.

The study was conducted in three regions representing epidemiological strata of the country: Agadez (Centre de santé Intégré of Dagamanet in the Health district of Agadez), Maradi (Centre de santé intégré of Guindaoua in Tessaoua) and Dosso (Centre de santé Intégré centre in Gaya). The protocol used is the WHO standardized protocol of 2009. Artemether/Lumefantrine (AL) was administered with a 28-day follow-up in children aged 3 months to 15 years. A Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) correction is planned to differentiate between treatment failure and re-infestation as well as a study of genes responsible for resistance on the main drugs used.

Read the detailed description

The study took place from September 1 to October 31, 2020 at the time of peak malaria transmission. It took place at three sentinel sites of the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP). These were in the regions of i) Agadez at the Centre de Santé Intégré (CSI) of Dagamanet in the Agadez district, ii) Dosso at the CSI centre in the health district (HD) of Gaya iii) Maradi at the CSI Guindaoua in the HD of Tessaoua. These sites were identified by the NMCP because of their high attendance rate and belong to 3 different malaria epidemiological strata.

As the treatment failure rate of artemether lumefantrine (AL) in the regions is unknown, 5% was chosen. With a confidence level of 95% and a precision around the estimate of 5%, a minimum of 73 patients were included. The number of patients was increased by 20% to account for possible dropouts and withdrawals during the 28/42 day follow-up period, 88 patients were included in the study per site.

The study drug is oral AL. It is one of the four antimalarial drugs selected by the Niger's NMCP for the management of malaria. The product consists of blister packs of 6 tablets, box of 30 of lot number K U142 with an expiration date of January 2022 and blister packs of 12 tablets, box of 30 of lot number K U456 with an expiration date of January 2022.

The AL combination was administered at a dose of 4 mg artemether and 24 mg lumefantrine per kg for three days. The AL was provided by the NMCP.

The different prescriptions were as follows:

  • 5 to 15 Kg: 1 tablet, twice a day for three days.
  • 15 to 25 Kg: 2 tablets, twice a day for three days.
  • 25 to 35 kg: 3 tablets, twice a day for three days.
  • Over 35 kg: 4 tablets, twice a day for three days.

The first day's intake was done under direct observation and possible side effects were noted. Any patient who persistently vomited after taking the medication was excluded from the study and treated with artesunate. Patients were followed up regularly until Day 28 and received a clinical examination with thick drop control and axillary temperature taking at Day 0, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 7, Day 14, Day 21, and Day 28. Capillary blood on filtered paper (Wattman) was routinely collected from all patients on the day of inclusion ( Day 0) and during follow-up for molecular analysis. For follow-up, the density of asexual parasite forms was assessed on the basis of 8 000 leukocytes per microliter of blood. All slides were read by two microscopists to ensure control. At the end of the follow-up, the response to treatment was classified according to clinical and parasitological criteria

Conditions
MALARIA
Being tested
Artemether-lumefantrine
Keywords
Malaria, Efficacy, Arthemeter, Lumefantrine, Niger
Medical subject headings
Malaria

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Artemether-lumefantrineDrug

    Efficacy of artemether lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in three sentinel sites in Niger (Agadez, Gaya and Tessaoua) in 2020

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Percentage of patients with asexual falciparum parasitaemia on Day 0.

    Parasitaemia always refers to falciparum species. Mixed infections detected by light microscopy was excluded.

    Measured: 4 weeks

  2. Number of patiants with presence of gametocytes on Day 0

    Measured: 4 weeks

  3. Percentage of patients with danger signs of malaria on Day 1

    Depending on the classification, a patient will be considered as having experienced treatment failure if the danger signs are associated with the presence of parasites.

    Measured: 4 weeks

  4. Proportion of patients with 'adequate clinical and parasitological response' (ACPR) before PCR-corrected

    absence of parasitaemia on day 28 (day 42), irrespective of axillary temperature, in patients who did not previously meet any of the criteria of early treatment failure, late clinical failure or late parasitological failure

    Measured: 8 weeks

  5. Proportion of patients with 'adequate clinical and parasitological response' (ACPR) after PCR-corrected

    PCR analysis

    Measured: 24 weeks

  6. Proportion of patients with 'early treatment failure' (ETF) before PCR-corrected

    • Danger signs or severe malaria on day 1, 2 or 3, in the presence of parasitaemia;
    • Parasitaemia on day 2 higher than on day 0, irrespective of axillary temperature;
    • Parasitaemia on day 3 with axillary temperature ≥ 37.5 °C; and
    • Parasitaemia on day 3 ≥ 25% of count on day 0

    Measured: 8 weeks

  7. Proportion of patients with 'early treatment failure' (ETF) after PCR-corrected

    -PCR analysis

    Measured: 24 weeks

  8. Proportion of patients with 'late clinical failure' (LCF) before PCR-corrected

    • danger signs or severe malaria in the presence of parasitaemia on any day between day 4 and day 28 (day 42) in patients who did not previously meet any of the criteria of early treatment failure; and
    • presence of parasitaemia on any day between day 4 and day 28 (day 42) with axillary temperature ≥ 37.5 °C in patients who did not previously meet any of the criteria of early treatment failure

    Measured: 8 weeks

  9. Proportion of patients with 'late clinical failure' (LCF) after PCR-corrected

    PCR analysis

    Measured: 24 weeks

  10. Proportion of patients with 'late parasitological failure' (LPF) before PCR-corrected

    presence of parasitaemia on any day between day 7 and day 28 (day 42) with axillary temperature < 37.5 °C in patients who did not previously meet any of the criteria of early treatment failure or late clinical failure.

    Measured: 8 weeks

  11. Proportion of patients with 'late parasitological failure' (LPF) after PCR-corrected

    PCR analysis

    Measured: 24 weeks

  12. Percentage of the known mutations associated with artemisinin resistance observed.

    PCR analysis

    Measured: 24 weeks

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted7 Oct 2021
  2. Study start1 Sep 2020
  3. Primary completion30 Sep 2020
  4. Study completion28 Oct 2020

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Model description
This surveillance study is a prospective one-arm evaluation of clinical and parasitological responses to treatment of uncomplicated malaria with direct observation of treatment. Individuals with uncomplicated malaria, who meet the study inclusion criteria, will be recruited and treated at the sites by AL. They will be monitored for 28 days. Follow-up will consist of a series of fixed-date monitoring visits and corresponding clinical examinations and laboratory tests. Based on the results of these assessments, patients will be classified as having treatment failure (early or late) or adequate response. The proportion of patients with treatment failure during follow-up will be used to assess the efficacy of the study drugs. PCR analysis will be used to distinguish between true recrudescence due to treatment failure and episodes of re-infestation. A proportion of 10% of the slides read in the field will be submitted for quality control.
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
259 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05070520
Sponsor's protocol ID
033/2020/CNERS
Status last verified
Oct 2021
First submitted
24 Sep 2021
Last updated
7 Oct 2021
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided: Data could be used for thesis

Publications

  • Severe falciparum malaria. World Health Organization, Communicable Diseases Cluster. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2000 Apr;94 Suppl 1:S1-90. No abstract available.

    PubMed 11103309
  • Laminou IM, Issa I, Adehossi E, Maman K, Jackou H, Coulibaly E, Tohon ZB, Ahmed J, Sanoussi E, Koko D. Therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of artemether-lumefantrine for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Niger, 2020. Malar J. 2024 May 13;23(1):144. doi: 10.1186/s12936-024-04945-8.

    PubMed 38741101

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing Artemether-lumefantrine in people with MALARIA, run by Programme National de Lutte contre le Paludisme, Niger at 1 site in Niger.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 11 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 7 Oct 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Niger. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Percentage of patients with asexual falciparum parasitaemia on Day 0. (time frame: 4 weeks). The study lists 12 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05070520, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 7 Oct 2021.

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