Ugboaja Joseph Odirichukwu, Oguejiofor Charlotte O
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria.
J Vector Borne Dis. 2017 Jul-Sep;54(3):249-254. doi: 10.4103/0972-9062.217616.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Prevention of malaria in pregnancy is a key intervention for reducing maternal mortality and morbidity in the tropical region of Africa. The present study was aimed to determine whether the administration of two doses of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPT-SP) and use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) is correlated with reduced incidence of malaria in pregnancy or not.
In total 270 pregnant women were randomly divided into three groups; A, B and C depending on the use of IPT and ITN, and were tested for malaria in pregnancy.
The overall prevalence of malaria parasitaemia was found to be 57.8%. The prevalence rate was 56.7% for group A (IPT alone); 45.6% for group B (IPT and ITN) and 71.1% for group C (None). The difference between group A and C was statistically significant (χ2 = 4.07, OR = 1.88, p < 0.04). Also, women in group A were one and half times more susceptible to malaria than women in group B (χ2 = 2.22, OR = 1.56, p < 0.14).
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The use of IPT-SP and ITN was found to be significantly associated with reduced malarial infestation during pregnancy in the study area. There is a need to scale up both the strategies in order to reduce the high burden of malaria in pregnant women.
孕期疟疾预防是降低非洲热带地区孕产妇死亡率和发病率的关键干预措施。本研究旨在确定给予两剂磺胺多辛-乙胺嘧啶间歇性预防治疗（IPT-SP）以及使用经杀虫剂处理的蚊帐（ITN）是否与降低孕期疟疾发病率相关。
总共270名孕妇根据IPT和ITN的使用情况随机分为三组：A组、B组和C组，并接受孕期疟疾检测。
疟疾寄生虫血症的总体患病率为57.8%。A组（仅IPT）的患病率为56.7%；B组（IPT和ITN）为45.6%；C组（均未使用）为71.1%。A组和C组之间的差异具有统计学意义（χ2 = 4.07，OR = 1.88，p < 0.04）。此外，A组女性感染疟疾的易感性是B组女性的1.5倍（χ2 = 2.22，OR = 1.56，p < 0.14）。
在研究区域，发现使用IPT-SP和ITN与降低孕期疟疾感染显著相关。有必要扩大这两种策略的实施规模，以减轻孕妇疟疾的高负担。
