Table 1.
Study population characteristics of Papua New Guinean women
| Characteristic | Single course of CQ and SP treatment (n = 304) | Three courses of SP and AZ treatment (n = 277) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 24.0 (21.0–28.0) | 24.0 (21.0–28.0) | 0.2 |
| Weight at enrolment, kg | 55.0 (50.0–59.0) | 53.0 (49.0–59.0) | 0.6 |
| MUAC at enrolment, cm | 23.0 (22.0–25.0) | 23.0 (22.0–25.0) | 0.5 |
| Gravidity | 0.4 | ||
| Gravida 1, n (%) | 108 (35.5) | 92 (33.2) | |
| Gravida 2, n (%) | 91 (29.9) | 88 (31.8) | |
| Gravida 3, n (%) | 105 (34.5) | 97 (35.0) | |
| Overall Bed net use | 0.4 | ||
| No, n (%) | 2 (0.7) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Intermittent, n (%) | 89 (29.3) | 82 (29.6) | |
| Regular, n (%) | 213 (70.1) | 195 (70.4) | |
| Ethnicity | 0.5 | ||
| Madang/Morobe | 194 (63.8) | 193 (69.7) | |
| Sepik | 57 (18.8) | 41 (14.8) | |
| Highland | 26 (8.6) | 19 (6.9) | |
| Others | 27 (8.9) | 24 (8.7) | |
| Residence | 0.9 | ||
| Urban | 51 (16.8) | 44 (16.0) | |
| Peri-urban | 59 (19.5) | 50 (18.1) | |
| Rural | 181 (59.7) | 170 (61.8) | |
| Migrant | 12 (4.0) | 11 (4.0) | |
| Light microscopy (P. falciparum) | |||
| Enrolment (peripheral blood) | 20 (6.6) | 15 (5.4) | 0.5 |
| Delivery (peripheral blood) | 7 (2.3) | 5 (1.8) | 0.7 |
| Delivery (placental blood) | 7 (2.3) | 4 (1.4) | 0.2 |
| qPCR (P. falciparum) | |||
| Enrolment (peripheral blood) | 31 (10.2) | 24 (8.7) | 0.8 |
| Delivery (peripheral blood) | 14 (4.6) | 8 (2.9) | 0.1 |
| Delivery (placental blood) | 7 (2.3) | 1 (0.3) | 0.1 |
| Placental histology | 0.1 | ||
| Uninfected | 171 (81.8) | 170 (81.0) | |
| Infecteda | 38 (18.2) | 40 (19.1) |
Data represented as median and interquartile range, unless otherwise indicated
AZ azithromycin, CQ chloroquine, SP sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, MUAC mid-upper arm circumference
aPlacental malaria was defined as histological evidence of acute, chronic, or past infection