How antimalarial drug resistance affects post-treatment prophylaxis

doi:10.1186/1475-2875-7-9

Malaria Journal

Volume 7

Viewing options:

Abstract
Full text
PDF (245KB)

Associated material:

Related literature:

Articles citing this article
on BioMed Central
on Google Scholar
on ISI Web of Science
on PubMed Central
Other articles by authors
on Google Scholar

White NJ

on PubMed

White NJ
Related articles/pages
on Google

on Google Scholar

on PubMed

Tools:

Post to:

Review

How antimalarial drug resistance affects post-treatment prophylaxis

Nicholas J White¹^,2

¹Mahidol-Oxford Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, 420/6 Rajvithi Rd., Bangkok 10400, Thailand

²Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7LJ, UK

author email corresponding author email

Malaria Journal 2008, 7:9doi:10.1186/1475-2875-7-9


Published:	11 January 2008

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.