Intermittent Use Of Sufadoxine-Pyrimethamine To Prevent Malaria In Patients With SCD In Malaria Endemic Regions: Findings From The Sickle Cell Disease Research and Control Center Of Bamako, Mali

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic disorder affecting erythrocytes and is especially prevalent throughout Sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is thought to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in affected individuals. In the absence of effective malaria vaccine, one of the affordable alternatives to prevent malaria at present is chemoprophylaxis. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of a monthly intermittent prophylaxis treatment (IPT) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) during high malaria transmission season in patients with sickle cell disease, two groups of SCD patients from two different sites were compared. The first group constituted of patients followed at the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Control Center of Bamako where IPT is routinely administered while the second group consisted of individuals enrolled in the health district in the same locality but no malaria prophylaxis. In this area, the incidence of resistance of P.falciparum to SP is estimated < 10%. SP combination was administrated as follows: sulfadoxine 25mg/kg and pyrimethamine 1.25mg/kg. For both groups, diagnosis of malaria was performed by using the rapid diagnosis test for the presence of P.falciparum . From 2011 to 2012, 687 SCD patients (457 from the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Control Center and 115 from the health district) were enrolled. The observed prevalence of malaria infection in the group receiving a monthly IPT by SP (1.5%) was much lower than the group (6%) for which IPT was not offered (P=0.01). When data was stratified by hemoglobin genotypes, malaria was found to occur entirely in SS and SC patients and no malaria cases were observed in S/β-thalassemia patients. SP was well tolerated since no patient in SP arm reported pruritus and no serious adverse events including death were recorded during the study. In malaria endemic areas where the incidence of resistance to SP is low, anti-malarial prophylaxis with this combination therapy significantly reduced the incidence of malaria in SCD patients with good safety and a lower cost. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.