Artesunate/mefloquine

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Artesunate/mefloquine
Combination of
Artesunate artemisinin
Mefloquine antimalarial
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Artesunate/mefloquine is a medication used to treat malaria. [1] It is a fixed dose combination of artesunate and mefloquine. [1] Specifically it is recommended to treat uncomplicated falciparum malaria. [2] It is taken by mouth. [1]

Contents

Side effects are similar to the medications being used separately. [2] Use is recommended as it decreases the possibility of either medications being used alone. [2] Dose forms appropriate for children are also available. [2]

Artesunate/mefloquine came into commercial use in 2008. [3] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. [1] It is approved for medical use in Brazil, India, and Malaysia. [2] It is not commercially available in the United States. [4]

Medical uses

Artesunate/mefloquine is a recommended treatment in Southeast Asia while in Africa artesunate/amodiaquine, artemether/lumefantrine, artesunate/sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine are often preferred. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Mefloquine, sold under the brand name Lariam among others, is a medication used to prevent or treat malaria. When used for prevention it is typically started before potential exposure and continued for several weeks after potential exposure. It can be used to treat mild or moderate malaria but is not recommended for severe malaria. It is taken by mouth.

Antimalarial medications or simply antimalarials are a type of antiparasitic chemical agent, often naturally derived, that can be used to treat or to prevent malaria, in the latter case, most often aiming at two susceptible target groups, young children and pregnant women. As of 2018, modern treatments, including for severe malaria, continued to depend on therapies deriving historically from quinine and artesunate, both parenteral (injectable) drugs, expanding from there into the many classes of available modern drugs. Incidence and distribution of the disease is expected to remain high, globally, for many years to come; moreover, known antimalarial drugs have repeatedly been observed to elicit resistance in the malaria parasite—including for combination therapies featuring artemisinin, a drug of last resort, where resistance has now been observed in Southeast Asia. As such, the needs for new antimalarial agents and new strategies of treatment remain important priorities in tropical medicine. As well, despite very positive outcomes from many modern treatments, serious side effects can impact some individuals taking standard doses.

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Artesunate (AS) is a medication used to treat malaria. The intravenous form is preferred to quinine for severe malaria. Often it is used as part of combination therapy, such as artesunate plus mefloquine. It is not used for the prevention of malaria. Artesunate can be given by injection into a vein, injection into a muscle, by mouth, and by rectum.

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Sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Fansidar, is a combination medication used to treat malaria. It contains sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine. For the treatment of malaria it is typically used along with other antimalarial medication such as artesunate. In areas of Africa with moderate to high rates of malaria, three doses are recommended during the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

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Lamivudine/nevirapine/zidovudine (3TC/NVP/AZT) is a fixed-dose combination antiretroviral medication used to treat HIV/AIDS. It contains lamivudine, nevirapine, and zidovudine. It is either used by itself or along with other antiretrovirals. It is a recommended treatment in those who are pregnant. It is taken by mouth twice a day.

Artesunate/pyronaridine, sold under the brand name Pyramax, is a fixed-dose combination medication for the treatment of malaria. It can be used for malaria of both the P. falciparum and P. vivax types. It combines artesunate and pyronaridine. It is taken by mouth.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 World Health Organization (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl: 10665/325771 . WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 World Health Organization (2014). The Selection and Use of Essential Medicines: Report of the WHO Expert Committee, 2013 (including the 18th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and the 4th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children). World Health Organization. p. 43–4. hdl: 10665/112729 . ISBN   9789241209854.
  3. Staines HM, Krishna S (2012). Treatment and Prevention of Malaria: Antimalarial Drug Chemistry, Action and Use. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 239. ISBN   9783034604802. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
  4. Sanford CA, Jong EC, Pottinger PS (2016). The Travel and Tropical Medicine Manual (5 ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 307. ISBN   9780323417426. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
  5. Marcondes CB (2016). Arthropod Borne Diseases. Springer. p. 35. ISBN   9783319138848. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.