Abstract:
Background: Monitoring and evaluation (M & E) of anti-malarial treatment among people living
with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is very important to assess the response and change in malaria parasite
biomass in an endemic area. Published data have shown that HIV-related immunosuppression
correlates with increased malaria biomass, treatment failure and complicated outcome despite an
individual's immune status. We evaluated blood samples from PLWHA based on malaria parasite
biomass and haematological changes during anti-malarial treatment
Aim: To evaluate Plasmodium falciparum biomass and haematological changes during antimalarial
treatment of PLWHA.
Settings and Designs: Cross-sectional and descriptive study design
Subjects and Methods: A randomized antimalarial treatment involving 126 subjects was carried
out in a hospital setup in Western Kenya. Blood samples were collected and analysed to determine
Original Research ArticleKirinyet and Mulambalah; IJTDH, 42(3): 1-11, 2021; Article no.IJTDH.66190
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malaria parasitaemia, changes in parasite biomass and haemoglobin levels in 28 days among
PLWHA following treatment with Quinine and Coartem® antimalarial drugs. Descriptive and chisquare tests were used to determine the association of parasitaemia with gender and relevant
haematological changes during treatment.
Results: A significant difference between females and males of those with parasitaemia on day-3
was noticed (p - 0.031). Quinine and Coartem® arms recorded a 100% parasite deletion/clearance
by day-14 but showed recurrence on day-21 of 6.3% and 3.1% of day-14 respectively. On day-28
the Quinine arm had higher parasitaemia (306.3%). Mean Hb improved from 11.0 gm/dL to 11.6
gm/dL by day-28.
Conclusion: Recurrence of malaria parasite biomass was noticeable from day-21 to day-28 with
Quinine arm of recipients and by day-28 haematological parameters had improved indicating
recovery. Routine M &E of malaria cases and haematinic agent dosages to correct anaemia
among PLWHA are recommended.
