The ASPIRE Trial - Aiming for Safe Pregnancies by Reducing Malaria and Infections of the Reproductive Tract

Summary

Malaria in pregnancy has devastating consequences for mother and foetus. WHO recommends intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for asymptomatic women, but high-level parasite resistance to SP threatens its efficacy. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) has the potential to replace SP for IPTp. However, the DP strategy has not been found to be superior to SP for reducing the incidence of low birthweight (LBW), small-for-gestational age (SGA), or preterm birth. This may be the result of sulphadoxine having antibacterial properties; it is derived from sulphonamide, which have been used for decades to treat curable STIs/RTIs. However, SP is unlikely to be curative of STIs/RTIs, nor highly effective against malaria parasites. Thus, combination treatment that contains a more efficacious antimalarial and a more efficacious anti-STI/RTI may produce better birth outcomes. The investigators will therefore determine whether combining SP with metronidazole (MTZ) or, separately, DP with MTZ can improve birth outcomes more than SP alone, potentially paving the way for integrated control strategies that will reduce the dual burden of malaria and curable STIs/RTIs.

This is an individually-randomized, 3-arm, partially-placebo controlled superiority trial comparing the efficacy, safety and tolerance of IPTp-SP versus IPTp-SP with MTZ, or IPTp-DP with MTZ to reduce adverse birth outcomes attributable to malaria and curable STIs/RTIs in 5,436 women in the Nchelenge District of Zambia.

Conditions

• Pregnancy Malaria
• Bacterial Vaginoses
• Trichomonas Vaginitis

Interventions

DRUG

IPTp-sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine plus metronidazole

Metronidazole (MTZ) is indicated for the treatment of BV and TV and is also safe to administer in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and its use with SP or DP may result in better birth outcomes than SP alone. Malaria parasites have developed resistance against SP and the treatment is sub-optimal at clearing malaria infection compared to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP), therapy that has a suitable profile for use in IPTp. This intervention arm can be compared to the intervention arm IPTp-DP plus MTZ to assess whether DP is superior to SP in preventing adverse birth outcomes. This intervention arm will also be compared to the IPTp-SP plus MTZ placebo arm to assess whether the combination of MTZ with IPTp-SP is superior to IPTp-SP alone in reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes.

DRUG

IPTp-dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine plus metronidazole

Metronidazole (MTZ) is indicated for the treatment of BV and TV and is also safe to administer in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and its use with SP or DP may result in better birth outcomes than SP alone. Malaria parasites have developed resistance against SP and the treatment is sub-optimal at clearing malaria infection compared to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP), therapy that has a suitable profile for use in IPTp. This intervention arm can be compared to the intervention arm IPTp-SP plus MTZ to assess whether DP is superior to SP in in reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes.

DRUG

IPTp-sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends providing intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) using sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) to pregnant women during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy to clear placental infection.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• R. Matthew Chico, MPH, PhD · London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-12-15

Primary Completion

2022-10-21

Completion

2023-03-31

Countries

• Zambia

Study Locations