A randomized, controlled trial of artemisinin-piperaquine vs dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine phosphate in treatment of falciparum malaria

Objective  The study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine phosphate (Artekin) and artemisinin-piperaquine (Artequick) in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria. Methods  A total of 103 uncomplicated falciparum malaria patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups: 52 cases in the Artequick group, and 51 cases in the Artekin group. The patients in the Artequick group were administered with Artequick, twice in 24 h, whereas the patients in the Artekin group were given Artekin 4 times in 2 days. The mean parasite clearance time, mean fever clearance time, 28-day cure rate and parasite recrudescence rates of the two groups were then compared. Results  The mean parasite clearance time and the mean fever clearance time were 43.2±13.9 h and 24.7±9.9 h, in the Artequick group, and 36.5±17.1 h and 22.7±11.2 h, in the Artekin group. In both groups the 28-day cure rate was 100%, and the parasite recrudescence rate was 0. Conclusion  Both medicines had high cure rates, low recrudescence rates, and no serious adverse reactions. The administration of Artequick, however, was more convenient and lower incidence of gastrointestinal side effects than that of Artekin, so as to increase the efficacy in the malaria population. Supported by Science and Technology Research Projects of Guangdong Province (No. 2005A30101009)