Cotrimoxazole Prophylaxis in Severely Malnourished Children

Summary

This trial aims to test the hypothesis that mortality among Kenyan children with severe malnutrition following initial stabilisation is due to ongoing vulnerability to infectious disease, and that long term daily co-trimoxazole prophylaxis will reduce mortality. The objective is to conduct a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis for 6 months among HIV-uninfected children with severe malnutrition following stabilization. The primary outcome will be survival at one year. Secondary outcomes are toxicity, growth, the frequency and causes of hospitalisation and microbial resistance to antibiotics. Cotrimoxazole has striking protective efficacy against mortality among children with HIV, despite not altering the underlying immune deficiency. It is hypothesised that co-trimoxazole prophylaxis will have a similar effect in children immunocompromised because of severe malnutrition. Worldwide, severe malnutrition is commoner than HIV in childhood and co-trimoxazole is cheap and widely available, making it easily translatable to policy.

Timeline

Start

2009-11

Primary completion

2014-04

Completion

2014-04

Publications

• Ngari MM, Iversen PO, Thitiri J, Mwalekwa L, Timbwa M, Fegan GW, Berkley JA. Linear growth following complicated severe malnutrition: 1-year follow-up cohort of Kenyan children. Arch Dis Child. 2019 Mar;104(3):229-235. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2018-315641. Epub 2018 Sep 28.
• Ngari MM, Mwalekwa L, Timbwa M, Hamid F, Ali R, Iversen PO, Fegan GW, Berkley JA. Changes in susceptibility to life-threatening infections after treatment for complicated severe malnutrition in Kenya. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Apr 1;107(4):626-634. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy007.
• Ngari MM, Thitiri J, Mwalekwa L, Timbwa M, Iversen PO, Fegan GW, Berkley JA. The impact of rickets on growth and morbidity during recovery among children with complicated severe acute malnutrition in Kenya: A cohort study. Matern Child Nutr. 2018 Apr;14(2):e12569. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12569. Epub 2017 Nov 27.
• Berkley JA, Ngari M, Thitiri J, Mwalekwa L, Timbwa M, Hamid F, Ali R, Shangala J, Mturi N, Jones KD, Alphan H, Mutai B, Bandika V, Hemed T, Awuondo K, Morpeth S, Kariuki S, Fegan G. Daily co-trimoxazole prophylaxis to prevent mortality in children with complicated severe acute malnutrition: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Glob Health. 2016 Jul;4(7):e464-73. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(16)30096-1. Epub 2016 Jun 2.

Drugs

Indications