EFFICACY OF ARTEMETHER LUMEFANTRINE WHEN CO-ADMINISTERED WITH CIPROFLOXACIN IN MALARIA-TYPHOID CO-INFECTED PATIENTS IN UNWANA SOUTH EAST NIGERIA.

An assessment of the efficacy of artemether lumefantrine when orally co-administered with ciprofloxacin in the treatment regimen of malaria and typhoid co-infection was carried out in this study. One hundred and nineteen (119) febrile volunteers comprising 55 males and 64 females were distributed into three oral treatment regimen groups: malaria infected individuals treated with AL (Group 1), malaria-typhoid co-infected individuals treated with AL and ciprofloxacin concomitantly (Group 2), and the dose staggered at 2 hours interval (Group 3). Parasitaemia on days 0, 3 and 7 were assessed by thick blood film microscopy. Changes in liver, kidney function and haematological indices on day 7 and day 7 lumefantrine concentration were assessed in the three groups using standard methods. Result: Co-administration treatment regimen (Group 2) was associated with significantly higher (p < 0.05) Late Parasitological Failure (LPF) and mean day 7 blood lumefantrine concentration when compared to AL (Group 1) and staggered dosing (Group 3) treatment regimens. Mean values of liver, kidney function parameters, PCV and haemoglobin were not significantly different (p > 0.05) in Group 3 when compared to Group 1.
Conclusion: Oral co-administration of AL with ciprofloxacin is associated with drug-drug interaction but the therapeutic implications for the efficacy of AL remains unclear.