title: Malaria on the Thai-Burmese border: treatment of 5192 patients with mefloquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine.
abstract: Multidrug-resistant falciparum malaria is a major health problem along the Thai-Burmese border. From July 1985 until December 1986 a total of 5192 patients with falciparum malaria (1734 males, 3458 females) from this area were given supervised treatment with the combination mefloquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (MSP). The radical cure rate, assessed 21 days after drug administration, was 98.4% for the first 1975 patients, and 98.8% when assessed at 28 days for the remaining 3217 patients. In 3.8% of cases, parasites were still detected in peripheral blood smears on day 7 after treatment but this had fallen to 0.27% by day 9. Adverse reactions among the first 1975 patients were: vertigo (7.5% of patients), vomiting (5.8%), epigastric pain (0.6%), and transient confusional state (one case). MSP is an effective and well-tolerated drug for the treatment of drug-resistant falciparum malaria; however, delayed parasite clearance may give a false impression of RII resistance.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nosten
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imvithaya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vincenti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Delmas
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lebihan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hausler
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015767:Mefloquine; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum; D011739:Pyrimethamine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011804:Quinolines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013413:Sulfadoxine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013785:Thailand
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D011804:Quinolines; D013413:Sulfadoxine; D015767:Mefloquine; D011739:Pyrimethamine