Atovaquone-Proguanil Compared with Chloroquine and Chloroquine-Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine for Treatment of Acute Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in the Philippines

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 1999-06, Vol.179 (6), p.1587-1590
• Main Authors: Bustos, Dorina G., Canfield, Craig J., Canete-Miguel, Editha, Hutchinson, David B. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antimalarials; Antimalarials - therapeutic use; Antiparasitic agents; Atovaquone; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Chloroquine; Chloroquine - therapeutic use; Concise Communications; Dosage; Drug Therapy, Combination; Falciparum malaria; Folic Acid Antagonists - therapeutic use; Human protozoal diseases; Humans; Hydrochlorides; Infectious diseases; Malaria; Malaria, Falciparum - drug therapy; Medical cures; Medical sciences; Naphthoquinones - therapeutic use; Parasitemia; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Philippines; Plasmodium falciparum; Proguanil; Proguanil - therapeutic use; Protozoal diseases; Pyrimethamine; Pyrimethamine - therapeutic use; Sulfadoxine - therapeutic use; Tropical medicine; Writing tablets
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/314770

This randomized, open-label clinical trial compared a fixed-dose combination of atovaquone and proguanil (n = 55) with chloroquine (n = 23) or a combination of chloroquine, sulfadoxine, and pyrimethamine (n = 32) for treatment of acute falciparum malaria in the Philippines. Patients were hospitalized for 28 days to ensure medication compliance and prevent reinfection. Atovaquone-proguanil produced a significantly higher cure rate (100%) compared with that for chloroquine (30.4%; P < .0001) or chloroquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (87.5%; P < .05). Treatments did not differ significantly with respect to parasite clearance time (mean: 46.7 h for atovaquone-proguanil, 60.0 h for chloroquine, and 42.8 h for chloroquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) or fever clearance time (mean, 38.8, 46.8, and 34.5 h, respectively). Adverse events were typical of malaria symptoms; the most frequently reported events were vomiting (18% for atovaquone-proguanil, 17% for chloroquine, and 9% for chloroquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine), abdominal pain (15%, 17%, and 3%, respectively), anorexia (11%, 13%, and 0%, respectively), and headache (6%, 17%, and 3%, respectively). Atovaquone-proguanil was well tolerated and more effective than chloroquine or chloroquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for treatment of multidrug-resistant falciparum malaria in the Philippines.