ArticleNew microbes and new infections2025
Can hair concentrations of artemether-lumefantrine be used as a tool to retrospectively determine drug exposure during malaria treatment?
Article in New microbes and new infections, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Malaria recrudescence after artemether-lumefantrine treatment in travellers- a hospital-based observational study and literature review.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) is the first-line treatment for uncomplicated Methods: Hair samples were collected from six patients with falciparum malaria at Amsterdam UMC, four weeks after treatment initiation. Samples were analysed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results: Lumefantrine and its metabolite desbutyl-lumefantrine were detected in all hair samples, with quantifiable levels in five cases. Artemether and its active metabolite dihydroartemisinin were undetectable. No study participants developed recrudescence. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that lumefantrine and its metabolite can be detected in hair weeks after treatment, suggesting hair analysis may serve as a retrospective tool to assess drug exposure in recrudescent malaria cases. The absence of artemether and dihydroartemisinin was likely due to their short half-lives, preventing incorporation into hair. A larger study is warranted to evaluate correlations between lumefantrine hair and plasma concentrations. If validated, this approach could aid in distinguishing inadequate drug exposure from reduced parasite susceptibility to AL, optimizing malaria treatment strategies.
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