Cost-effectiveness of artemisinin combination therapy for uncomplicated malaria in children: Data from Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Objective To compare the cost-effectiveness of conventional antimalarial therapy with that of three artemisinin combination treatment regimens in children from Papua New Guinea aged 6 to 60 months. Methods An incremental cost-effectiveness analysis was performed using data from 656 children with Plasmodium falciparum and/or P. vivax malaria who participated in a large intervention trial in two clinics in northern Papua New Guinea. The children were randomized to one of the following groups: (i)conventional treatment with chloroquine plus sulfadoxine plus pyrimethamine (CQ+S+P); (ii)artesunate plus S plus P; (iii)dihydroartemisinin plus piperaquine (DHA+PQ); and (iv)artemether plus lumefantri..