Higher-Dose Primaquine to Prevent Relapse of Plasmodium vivax Malaria.

BACKGROUND: In most of the Americas, the recommended treatment to prevent relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria is primaquine at a total dose of 3.5 mg per kilogram of body weight, despite evidence of only moderate efficacy. METHODS: In this trial conducted in Brazil, we evaluated three primaquine regimens to prevent relapse of P. vivax malaria in children at least 5 years of age and in adults with microscopy-confirmed P. vivax monoinfection. All the patients received directly observed chloroquine for 3 days (total dose, 25 mg per kilogram). Group 1 received a total primaquine dose of 3.5 mg per kilogram (0.5 mg per kilogram per day) over 7 days with unobserved administration; group 2 received the same regimen as group 1 but with observed administration; and group 3 received a total primaquine dose of 7.0 mg per kilogram over 14 days (also 0.5 mg per kilogram per day) with observed administration. We monitored the patients for 168 days. RESULTS: We enrolled 63 patients in group 1, 96 in group 2, and 95 in group 3. The median age of the patients was 22.4 years (range, 5.4 to 79.8). By day 28, three P. vivax recurrences were observed: 2 in group 1 and 1 in group 2. By day 168, a total of 70 recurrences had occurred: 24 in group 1, 34 in group 2, and 12 in group 3. No serious adverse events were noted. On day 168, the percentage of patients without recurrence was 58% (95% confidence interval [CI], 44 to 70) in group 1, 59% (95% CI, 47 to 69) in group 2, and 86% (95% CI, 76 to 92) in group 3. Survival analysis showed a difference in the day 168 recurrence-free percentage of 27 percentage points (97.5% CI, 10 to 44; P<0.001) between group 1 and group 3 and a difference of 27 percentage points (97.5% CI, 12 to 42; P<0.001) between group 2 and group 3. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of primaquine at a total dose of 7.0 mg per kilogram had higher efficacy in preventing relapse of P. vivax malaria than a total dose of 3.5 mg per kilogram through day 168. (Supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03610399.).

Comparison of artemether-lumefantrine and chloroquine with and without primaquine for the treatment of Plasmodium vivax infection in Ethiopia: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Recent efforts in malaria control have resulted in great gains in reducing the burden of Plasmodium falciparum, but P. vivax has been more refractory. Its ability to form dormant liver stages confounds control and elimination efforts. To compare the efficacy and safety of primaquine regimens for radical cure, we undertook a randomized controlled trial in Ethiopia. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Patients with normal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase status with symptomatic P. vivax mono-infection were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either chloroquine (CQ) or artemether-lumefantrine (AL), alone or in combination with 14 d of semi-supervised primaquine (PQ) (3.5 mg/kg total). A total of 398 patients (n = 104 in the CQ arm, n = 100 in the AL arm, n = 102 in the CQ+PQ arm, and n = 92 in the AL+PQ arm) were followed for 1 y, and recurrent episodes were treated with the same treatment allocated at enrolment. The primary endpoints were the risk of P. vivax recurrence at day 28 and at day 42. The risk of recurrent P. vivax infection at day 28 was 4.0% (95% CI 1.5%-10.4%) after CQ treatment and 0% (95% CI 0%-4.0%) after CQ+PQ. The corresponding risks were 12.0% (95% CI 6.8%-20.6%) following AL alone and 2.3% (95% CI 0.6%-9.0%) following AL+PQ. On day 42, the risk was 18.7% (95% CI 12.2%-28.0%) after CQ, 1.2% (95% CI 0.2%-8.0%) after CQ+PQ, 29.9% (95% CI 21.6%-40.5%) after AL, and 5.9% (95% CI 2.4%-13.5%) after AL+PQ (overall p < 0.001). In those not prescribed PQ, the risk of recurrence by day 42 appeared greater following AL treatment than CQ treatment (HR = 1.8 [95% CI 1.0-3.2]; p = 0.059). At the end of follow-up, the incidence rate of P. vivax was 2.2 episodes/person-year for patients treated with CQ compared to 0.4 for patients treated with CQ+PQ (rate ratio: 5.1 [95% CI 2.9-9.1]; p < 0.001) and 2.3 episodes/person-year for AL compared to 0.5 for AL+PQ (rate ratio: 6.4 [95% CI 3.6-11.3]; p < 0.001). There was no difference in the occurrence of adverse events between treatment arms. The main limitations of the study were the early termination of the trial and the omission of haemoglobin measurement after day 42, resulting in an inability to estimate the cumulative risk of anaemia. CONCLUSIONS: Despite evidence of CQ-resistant P. vivax, the risk of recurrence in this study was greater following treatment with AL unless it was combined with a supervised course of PQ. PQ combined with either CQ or AL was well tolerated and reduced recurrence of vivax malaria by 5-fold at 1 y. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01680406.

Reflexiones sobre el cuidado ambiental desde la perspectiva de estudiantes universitarios de Enfermería / Reflections on Environmental Care from the Perspective of University Nursing Students

Introducción: Cada día el medio ambiente se ve deteriorado por la contaminación ambiental y el cambio climático, por tanto, es necesario que desde su formación universitaria los futuros enfermeros tomen conciencia ambiental, ayuden a prevenir enfermedades emergentes y se comprometan con el cuidado de su entorno, que le permita un hábitat saludable para todos. Objetivo: Comprender las reflexiones sobre el cuidado ambiental desde la perspectiva de estudiantes universitarios de Enfermería. Métodos: Se realizó una investigación cualitativa descriptiva exploratoria en agosto del 2022. La población fue de 20 estudiantes de Enfermería de la Universidad Nacional "Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza" de Amazonas en Perú, que cursaron la asignatura de Enfermería en Salud Ambiental, y la muestra fue de 12 estudiantes, obtenida por la técnica de saturación y redundancia. Para recolectar los datos se usó la entrevista semiestructurada a través de la plataforma Zoom, procesadas con el análisis de contenido temático. Resultados: Se obtuvieron cuatro categorías: a) Interés para cuidar el medio ambiente, b) Estrategias para cuidar el medio ambiente a nivel personal y familiar, c) Percepción sobre el cuidado/descuido del medio ambiente en su comunidad, y d) Impacto de la formación profesional para cuidar el medio ambiente. Conclusiones: Los estudiantes de Enfermería son conscientes de la importancia del cuidado del medio ambiente y por ello practican, junto a su familia, acciones que ayudan a mitigar el cambio climático. Se confirma el impacto positivo que tiene la asignatura de Enfermería en salud ambiental, por ello otras escuelas y facultades de Enfermería lo deberían considerar en sus planes curriculares(AU)

Introduction: Every day, the environment becomes much deteriorated by environmental pollution and climate change; therefore, it is necessary that, from their university education, future nurses become environmentally aware, help to prevent emerging diseases and commit themselves to taking care of their environment, allowing a healthy habitat for all. Objective: To understand the reflections on environmental care from the perspective of university Nursing students. Methods: An exploratory descriptive and qualitative research was conducted in August 2022. The population was 20 Nursing students from Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza, of Amazonas in Peru, who studied the subject of Nursing in Environmental Health. The sample, of 12 students, was obtained using the saturation and redundancy technique. To collect the data, a semistructured interview was used through the Zoom platform, processed using thematic content analysis. Results: Four categories were obtained: a) Interest in caring for the environment, b) Strategies to care for the environment at a personal and family level, c) Perception on care/neglect of the environment in their community, and d) Impact of professional training to care for the environment. Conclusions: Nursing students are aware of the importance of caring for the environment; therefore, they carry out, together with their family, actions that help to mitigate climate change. The positive impact of the course Nursing in Environmental Health course is confirmed, and other schools or academic institutions of nursing should consider it for their curricular plans(AU)