Antimalarial drugs in children

Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine was evaluated as seasonal chemoprevention in young children in Burkina Faso. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of piperaquine were described using modelling and simulation and showed that young children need a relatively higher dosage compared to adults (Nat Commun. 2019 Jan 29; 10(1):480).

Results demonstrated that an increased piperaquine dosage and extended coverage during the high transmission season could have a substantial impact on the incidence of malaria. The clinical data was also used to estimate an in vivo minimal inhibitory concentration for piperaquine, correlated to successful prevention of malaria. This work has been submitted and is under review for publication.