ABSTRACT
A double-blind comparative study of Fanismef-mefloquine/sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (MSP) and Lariam-mefloquine (MEF) for the treatment of falciparum malaria, was carried out at malaria clinics in Kanchanaburi, in western Thailand, in the years 1987 and 1988. The cure rates obtained were 96% for the MSP group and 93% for the MEF and there was no significant difference. Vomiting and diarrhea were common side effects in both the MSP and MEF groups. Less common side effects were epigastric pain, minor skin rashes and dizziness. Significant differences in vomiting and epigastric pain only occurred in the patients who did not have these symptoms before treatment: vomiting MSP 23%, MEF 8%, epigastric pain MSP 22% and MEF 11%.
Subject(s)
Antimalarials/therapeutic use , Malaria/drug therapy , Mefloquine/analogs & derivatives , Mefloquine/therapeutic use , Plasmodium falciparum , Pyrimethamine/therapeutic use , Sulfadoxine/therapeutic use , Adult , Animals , Antimalarials/administration & dosage , Antimalarials/adverse effects , Double-Blind Method , Drug Combinations , Drug Resistance , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Mefloquine/administration & dosage , Mefloquine/adverse effects , Mefloquine/blood , Pyrimethamine/administration & dosage , Pyrimethamine/adverse effects , Sulfadoxine/administration & dosage , Sulfadoxine/adverse effects , ThailandABSTRACT
Five regimens for the radical treatment of falciparum malaria were compared in five geographically separate areas of Thailand. The cure rate for sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine was found to be low in the area of the Kampuchean border and in the northeastern and western parts of the country. This distribution may be related to the spread of resistant parasites through the migration of labourers. A 7-day course of quinine was found to be uniformly effective, with an overall cure rate of 90% in these primary infections with comparatively low parasitaemia.
