Observational studyMalaria journal2014
Submicroscopic malaria infection during pregnancy and the impact of intermittent preventive treatment.
Observational study in Malaria journal, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence, predictors and adverse perinatal outcomes of placental malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review of the diagnostic accuracy of thick smear compared to polymerase chain reaction for pregnancy-associated malaria, 2010-2022.Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publicaPooled it
- Predictors of Plasmodium falciparum Infection in the First Trimester Among Nulliparous Women From Kenya, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2022Trial
- Placental malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax or P. falciparum in Colombia: Histopathology and mediators in placental processes.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Improving malaria preventive practices and pregnancy outcomes through a health education intervention: A randomized controlled trial.Malaria journal · 2021Trial
- Microscopic and submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum infection, maternal anaemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Papua New Guinea: a cohort study.Malaria journal · 2019Trial
- Impact of Microscopic and Submicroscopic Parasitemia During Pregnancy on Placental Malaria in a High-Transmission Setting in Uganda.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2019Trial
- The Performance of a Rapid Diagnostic Test in Detecting Malaria Infection in Pregnant Women and the Impact of Missed Infections.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016Trial
- Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine for the Prevention of Malaria in Pregnancy.The New England journal of medicine · 2016Trial
- In vivo efficacy of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine for the treatment of asymptomatic parasitaemia in pregnant women in Machinga District, Malawi.Malaria journal · 2015Trial
- Prevalence of submicroscopic congenital malaria and associated risk factors in an area of low endemicity of Guatemala.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Current update on malaria in pregnancy: a systematic review.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2025Review
- Submicroscopic malaria in pregnancy and associated adverse pregnancy events: A case-cohort study of 4,352 women on the Thailand-Myanmar border.PLoS medicine · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Intermittent Preventive Treatment with Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine in Pregnancy: Low Coverage and High Prevalence ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Impact of Sub-patent Malaria During Pregnancy on Birth-Weight in Odisha, India: Time-to-Event Analysis of Prospective Longitudinal Follow-Up of a Survey.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2023Article
- Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) studies assessing the clinical performance of highly sensitive rapid diagnostic tests (HS-RDT) for Plasmodium falciparum detection.Malaria journal · 2023Review
- Hyper-prevalence of submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum infections in a rural area of western Kenya with declining malaria cases.Malaria journal · 2021Article
- The impact of malaria during pregnancy on low birth weight in East-Africa: a topical review.Malaria journal · 2021Review
- Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine parasitological efficacy against Plasmodium falciparum among pregnant women and molecular markers of resistance in Zambia: an observational cohort study.Malaria journal · 2021Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMalaria during pregnancy results in adverse outcomes for mothers and infants. Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is the primary intervention aimed at reducing malaria infection during pregnancy. Although submicroscopic infection is common during pregnancy and at delivery, its impact throughout pregnancy on the development of placental malaria and adverse pregnancy outcomes has not been clearly established.
methodsQuantitative PCR was used to detect submicroscopic infections in pregnant women enrolled in an observational study in Blantyre, Malawi to determine their effect on maternal, foetal and placental outcomes. The ability of SP to treat and prevent submicroscopic infections was also assessed.
results2,681 samples from 448 women were analysed and 95 submicroscopic infections were detected in 68 women, a rate of 0.6 episodes per person-year of follow-up. Submicroscopic infections were most often detected at enrolment. The majority of women with submicroscopic infections did not have a microscopically detectable infection detected during pregnancy. Submicroscopic infection was associated with placental malaria even after controlling for microscopically detectable infection and was associated with decreased maternal haemoglobin at the time of detection. However, submicroscopic infection was not associated with adverse maternal or foetal outcomes at delivery. One-third of women with evidence of placental malaria did not have documented peripheral infection during pregnancy. SP was moderately effective in treating submicroscopic infections, but did not prevent the development of new submicroscopic infections in the month after administration.
conclusionsSubmicroscopic malaria infection is common and occurs early in pregnancy. SP-IPT can clear some submicroscopic infections but does not prevent new infections after administration. To effectively control pregnancy-associated malaria, new interventions are required to target women prior to their first antenatal care visit and to effectively treat and prevent all malaria infections.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.