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Although school-age children may be less likely than younger children to die from malaria, they commonly have parasitemia without obvious symptoms. Might intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) of these children yield benefits in health and education?
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in 30 schools in western Kenya, researchers randomly assigned 5- to 18-year-old children to receive IPT (1 dose of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and 3 daily doses of amodiaquine) or dual placebo on three occasions during a 12-month period. Of the children included in the intention-to-treat analysis of health outcomes, 2604 were randomized to IPT and 2302 to placebo.
After 12 months of intervention, anemia prevalence was significantly lower in the…