Treatment of Fever Due to Malaria With Ibuprofen

September 19, 2005 updated by: Albert Schweitzer Hospital

Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Study of the Antipyretic Effect of Ibuprofen in Children With Uncomplicated Malaria

Drugs to treat fever are widely used in children with fever. But there is a controversy about the benefit of reducing fever in children with malaria. Ibuprofen is often used to treat malarial fever. This study evaluates the capacity of ibuprofen to reduce fever in malaria. The effect of ibuprofen on fever compared to only mechanical measures is investigated in children with malaria.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Fever is the most apparent clinical manifestation of Plasmodium falciparum infection during the acute phase. The role of fever in defence against malaria or in other infectious diseases remains unclear. However, it has been shown that febrile temperatures inhibit the growth of P. falciparum in vitro.

Antipyretic drugs are commonly and widely used to treat malarial fever in endemic areas. There is however a controversy about the benefit of reducing fever in children with malaria. Data from Gabon have revealed that neither paracetamol, nor naproxen or metamizol - antipyretics often used in this area - had an effect on fever clearance time. Worryingly, paracetamol increased parasite-clearance times (i.e. inhibited clearance of parasites) and decreased significantly the production of oxygen radicals and tumour necrosis factor (TNF), mechanisms of the innate immune response, pivotal to combat infections.

Another antipyretic drug often used to treat malarial fever in endemic areas is ibuprofen. However, the rationale of its use and its capacity of reducing fever due to P. falciparum infections has never been proven in this area.

Comparison: The effect of ibuprofen plus mechanical fever "treatment" (continuous fanning, tepid sponging, and cooling blankets) is compared to mechanical treatment alone to treat fever in children with malaria.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

50

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Gabon
    • Moyen Ogooué
      • Lambaréné, Moyen Ogooué, Gabon, B.P. 118
        • Medical Research Unit, Lambaréné

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

1 year to 3 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Uncomplicated falciparum malaria
  • Asexual parasitaemia between 20,000 and 200,000/µL
  • Fever with temperature above 38 °C or history of fever during the preceding 24 hours
  • Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Effective anti-malarial treatment for the present attack
  • Antipyretic use within 6 hours of presentation
  • Contraindications to the use of ibuprofen (history of asthma, dyspeptic symptoms, gastro-intestinal bleeding, or allergy to ibuprofen)
  • Mixed plasmodial infection
  • Haemoglobin < 7 g/dL
  • Packed-cell volume < 20%
  • White cell count > 16,000/L
  • Platelet count < 40,000/µL
  • Schizontaemia > 50/µL
  • Impaired consciousness
  • Convulsions or history of convulsions
  • Concomitant diseases masking assessment of response

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Fever clearance time
Fever time
Area under the fever curve

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Parasite clearance time
Adverse event during the entire study period

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Albert Schweitzer Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michel A. Missinou, PhD, Albert Schweitzer Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2003

Study Completion

January 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 11, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 11, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 14, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 21, 2005

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 19, 2005

Last Verified

September 1, 2005

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 04/2003/IBU

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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