Comment in:
Atovaquone-proguanil compared with chloroquine and chloroquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for treatment of acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the Philippines.
Bustos DG, Canfield CJ, Canete-Miguel E, Hutchinson DB.
Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Health, Alabang, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila 1770, Philippines.
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.
Publication Types:
PMID: 10228090 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]