by Goyal V, Burza S, Pandey K, Singh SN, Singh RS, Strub-Wourgaft N, Rabi Das VN, Bern C, Hightower A, Rijal S, Sunyoto T, Alves F, Lima N, Das P, Alvar J. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2019, 13(9): e0007726.
Summary: A phase 4 study conducted within public health facilities in Bihar, India measured the field effectiveness of three new treatment regimens for visceral leishmaniasis: single dose AmBisome®, and combination therapies of AmBisome® and miltefosine and miltefosine and paromomycin up to 6 months follow-up. The National Vector Borne Disease Control Program recommended an extended follow up at 12 months post-treatment of the original study cohort to quantify late relapses. This paper describes how extending follow-up beyond the standard 6 months identified 20 additional relapses, 7 in the AmBisome®, 10 in the AmBisome® and miltefosine and 3 in the miltefosine and paromomycin arms, suggesting that 12-month sentinel follow-up may be useful as a programmatic tool to better identify and quantify relapses.
