Will a Week of Primaquine Prevent Vivax Malaria Relapse?

One week of high-dose primaquine was noninferior to 2 weeks of standard-dose primaquine in preventing relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria.

Primaquine is effective in preventing Plasmodium vivax malaria relapses, but adherence to the standard 14-day course is poor. To find if a shorter but higher-dose course of primaquine, which might improve adherence, would be as effective, investigators conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, noninferiority trial involving 2336 patients at clinics in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Vietnam who had uncomplicated P. vivax malaria, normal levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), and schizontocidal treatment.

During 12 months of follow-up, the incidence of symptomatic recurrent P. vivax malaria was 0.18 recurrences per person-year in the 7-day primaquine group, 0.16 in the 14-day primaquine group, and 0.96 in th…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Will a Week of Primaquine Prevent Vivax Malaria Relapse?

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Reviewing Author