Efficacy and tolerability of artesunate in patients infested with Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Abstract

Malaria is a serious endemic disease and its treatment has continued to pose challenges in recent times especially with Plasmodium falciparum infestation. This is due to the emergence of resistance to chloroquine, which is the first drug of choice, and the most widely used anti-malaria drug that led to the use of newer drugs such as Artesunate. Thus, the tolerability of artesunate in people infested with P. falciparum malaria was investigated in this locality.
The patients were investigated before and after treatment with artesunate for the presence of P. falciparum malaria parasite in their peripheral blood. Also the haematological and biochemical indices were conducted on the blood before and after treatment. Some vital signs and urinalysis were also carried out.
This study showed that 92% of the patients had radical cure after treatment with artesunate suggesting that the drug is highly efficacious in the treatment of P. falciparum malaria. Furthermore, the drug was well tolerated by the patients, as there was no significant difference/changes (P>0.05) in the levels of the biochemical, haematological indices/parameters monitored. This is also true for the vital signs and the urinalysis conducted on the patients.


Keywords: Artesunate, patients' P. falciparum malaria, tolerability, Haematological indices, Biochemical parameters

Journal of Biomedical Investigation Vol. 3 (1) 2005: pp. 20-25