Project Coordinator: Pauline Byakika-Kibwika (Uganda)
Target disease: Malaria
Partners: Makerere University (Uganda), Trinity College (Ireland)
Budget: € 199,953
Duration of project: March 2011-March 2013

The project will compare treatment outcome (measured as risk of recurrent parasitaemia and risk of recurrent symptomatic malaria) following treatment with IV quinine followed by oral artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) (Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL) or Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP)) and IV artesunate followed by oral ACT (AL or DP) for treatment of severe malaria in Ugandan patients. It will also compare parasite clearance time following treatment with IV quinine followed by oral ACT (AL or DP) and IV artesunate followed by oral ACT (AL or DP) for treatment of severe malaria in Ugandan patients. This project also aims to investigate the pharmacokinetic parameters of IV quinine, IV artesunate, oral AL and oral DP during severe malaria treatment in Ugandan patients and correlate these with treatment outcome, and to investigate the pharmacokinetic drug interactions of quinine, artesunate, lumefantrine and piperaquine with the antiretroviral drugs (Nevirapine, Efavirenz, Lopinavir/ritonavir) in Ugandan patients.