Impact of Antihelminthic Therapy on Malaria in Nigerian Children

The description of the study population, design, and methods of the original study are detailed in prior publications [19 (link),20 (link)]. Briefly, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in four semi-urban villages situated near Ile-Ife, in Osun State, Nigeria. The goal of the study was to investigate the impact of repeated antihelminthic therapy with albendazole on Plasmodium infection in children between 12 and 60 months of age. Children were randomized to receive either placebo or albendazole every four months during the study period. Stool specimens were examined for the presence of helminth infections. Eggs per gram (epg) of faeces was used to estimate parasite intensity. Finger-prick blood specimens were taken for analysis of Plasmodium infection via malaria rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) (Parascreen, Zephyr Biomedicals, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna Goa, India) and microscopic examination for malaria parasites. Haemoglobin levels were determined using a haemoglobinometer (Accuscience, Ireland). Children suffering from a malaria attack were treated with artemether-lumefantrine.The study was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital’s Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Informed consent was obtained from the mother of each child included in this study.
This study utilized the available data from the baseline, four-month, and eight-month time points. At each time point, only those patients with a result for haemoglobin, malaria testing, and stool microscopy for helminths were included. Mild anaemia was defined as haemoglobin (Hb) level between 10.0 and 10.9 g/dl, moderate anaem ia was defined as 7.0 g/dL≤ Hb <10 g/dL, and severe anaemia was defined as Hb <7.0 g/dL [21 ].