Quantification of valproic acid in dried blood spots.

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) is recommended in patients with multiple drug therapy or with concomitant disabilities to ensure treatment efficacy and avoid adverse reactions in both adults and children. The use of sampling techniques compatible with home sampling, such as dried blood spot sampling could potentially facilitate this for patients. AIM.

Comparable lumefantrine oral bioavailability when co-administered with oil-fortified maize porridge or milk in healthy volunteers.

Co-administration of artemether-lumefantrine with milk is recommended to improve lumefantrine (L) absorption but milk may not be available in resource-limited settings. This study explored the effects of cheap local food in Uganda on oral bioavailability of lumefantrine relative to milk. In an open-label, four-period crossover study, 13 healthy adult volunteers were randomized to receive a single oral dose of artemether-lumefantrine (80 mg artemether/480 mg lumefantrine) with water, milk, maize porridge or maize porridge with oil on separate occasions.

Pharmacokinetics of the nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor efavirenz among HIV-infected Ugandans.

Background: Pharmacokinetic variability of the nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor efavirenz has been documented, and high variation in trough concentrations or clearance has been found to be a risk for virological failure. Africans population exhibits greater variability in efavirenz concentrations than other ethnic groups, and so a better understanding of the pharmacokinetics of the drug is needed in this population. This study characterized efavirenz pharmacokinetics in HIV-infected Ugandans.

Adherence to artemether/lumefantrine treatment in children under real-life situations in rural Tanzania.

A follow-up study was conducted to determine the magnitude of and factors related to adherence to artemether/lumefantrine (ALu) treatment in rural settings in Tanzania. Children in five villages of Kilosa District treated at health facilities were followed-up at their homes on Day 7 after the first dose of ALu. For those found to be positive using a rapid diagnostic test for malaria and treated with ALu, their caretakers were interviewed on drug administration habits.

Field-adapted sampling of whole blood to determine the levels of amodiaquine and its metabolite in children with uncomplicated malaria treated with amodiaquine plus artesunate combination.

Background: Artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) has been widely adopted as first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria. In Uganda, amodiaquine plus artesunate (AQ+AS), is the alternative first-line regimen to Coartem(R) (artemether + lumefantrine) for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria. Currently, there are few field-adapted analytical techniques for monitoring amodiaquine utilization in patients.