A randomized trial of dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine versus artemether–lumefantrine for treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Mali

Background Artemether–lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate–amodiaquine are first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in many endemic countries, including Mali. Dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine (DHA–PQ) is also an alternative first-line artemisinin-based combination therapy, but only few data are available on DHA–PQ efficacy in sub-Saharan Africa. The main aim of this study was to compare clinical efficacy of DHA–PQ versus AL, using the World Health Organization (WHO) 42-day in vivo protocol. Methods The efficacy of three-dose regimens of DHA–PQ was compared to AL combination in a randomized, comparative open label trial using the WHO 42-day follow-up protocol from 2013 to 2015 in Doneguebougou and Torodo, Mali. The primary endpoint was to access the PCR-corrected Adequate Clinical and Parasitological Responses at day 28. Results A total of 317 uncomplicated malaria patients were enrolled, with 159 in DHA–PQ arm and 158 in AL arm. The parasite positivity rate decreased from 68.4% (95% CI 60.5–75.5) on day 1 to 3.8% (95% CI 1.4–8.1) on day 2 for DHA–PQ and 79.8% (95% CI 72.3–85.7) on day 1 to 9.5% (95% CI 5.4–15.2) on day 2 for AL, (p = 0.04). There was a significant difference in the uncorrected ACPR between DHA–PQ and AL, both at 28-day and 42-day follow-up with 97.4% (95% CI 93.5–99.3) in DHA–PQ vs 84.5% (95% CI 77.8–89.8) in AL (p < 0.001) and 94.2% (95% CI 89.3–97.3) in DHA–PQ vs 73.4% (95% CI 65.7–80.2) in AL, respectively (p < 0.001). After molecular correction, there was no significant difference in ACPRc between DHA–PQ and AL, both at the 28-day and 42-day follow-up with 99.4% (95% CI 96.5–100) in DHA–PQ versus 98.1% (95% CI 94.5–99.6) in AL (p = 0.3) and 99.3% (95% CI 96.5–100) in DHA–PQ vs 97.4% (95% CI 93.5–99.3) in AL (p = 0.2). There was no significant difference between DHA–PQ and AL in QTc prolongation 12.1% vs 7%, respectively (p = 0.4). Conclusion The results showed that dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine and artemether–lumefantrine were clinically efficacious on Plasmodium falciparum parasites in Mali.