Quinine Infusion for Recrudescences of Falciparum Malaria in Vietnam: A Controlled Study *

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Abstract
During the war in Vietnam, U. S. Army personnel with falciparum malaria were treated with quinine, pyrimethamine, and dapsone. In one hospital in Vietnam during 1969 to 1970, 11.8% of 901 patients developed renewed manifestations of disease and were considered to have recrudescences. This recrudescence rate was higher than that reported for the years 1965 to 1968. The patients in this hospital with recrudescences received quinine, pyrimethamine, and sulfisoxazole. During a 3-month study period, 88 successive patients with recrudescent infections received the quinine for 10 days either as a continuous intravenous infusion or as enteric coated tablets. Medication administration was under close surveillance. The radical cure rates for the two modes of therapy were 86% (31 out of 36) and 33% (14 out of 42), respectively. Carefully infused quinine produced little toxicity and has since become an accepted mode of therapy for recrudescences of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Vietnam.

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