Mamo, Hassen (PhD)Teklemaryam, Micheale2019-09-192023-11-092019-09-192023-11-092016-03-04http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/19143Malaria still remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of malaria cases is a primary malaria control strategy in the country. However, this control strategy is severely challenged by the evolution and rapid spread of resistant P. falciparum strains. Artemether-lumefantine (Art-L) is the first-line antimalarial drug against uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in the country since 2004. Regular monitoring of first- and second-line antimalarial drugs is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to help early detection of drug resistance and search for more effective options. However, there is no data regarding the efficacy status of AL in Setit Humera, northwest Ethiopia. This study was, therefore, conducted to fill in this gap. One arm prospective study of a 28-day follow-up was conducted from October 2014 to January 2015 according to the revised WHO 2009 efficacy study protocol. Study outcomes were classified into primary and secondary. The primary study outcome was the day 28 adequate clinical and parasitological response. The secondary study outcomes were clinical and parasitological evaluations (parasite, fever and gametocyte clearance rate, incidence of drug adverse events) and the relative increment in hemoglobin level from baseline to day (D) 14 and D28. A total of 92 patients were enrolled and 80 had completed the 28-day follow-up period. The overall cure rate was 98.8% with 95% confidence interval (0.915- 0.998) without polymerase chain reaction correction. The parasite clearance rate was high with fast resolution of clinical symptoms; 100% of the study participants cleared parasitaemia and fever on D3. Gametocyte carriage was reduced from 7% on D0 to 1% on D3 and complete clearance was achieved on D21. Mean hemoglobin concentration has significantly increased on D28 compared to that of D14. There was no serious adverse event. Overall, AL was efficacious and safe in the study population for treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria.enArtemether-LumefantineArtemisinin Combination TherapyDrug-Resistant MalariaPlasmodium FalciparumTherapeutic EfficacyTreatment FailureThesis