Primaquine

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Primaquine (or primaquine phosphate) is a medication used in the treatment of malaria and Pneumocystis pneumonia. It is a member of the 8-aminoquinoline group of drugs that includes tafenoquine and pamaquine. Primaquine is mainly used to treat the P. vivax or P. ovale malaria. Once the parasite has been eliminated from the bloodstream, the remaining hypnozoites must be removed from the liver and this is done by administering a 14 day course of primaquine. This process is called a radical cure. If primaquine is not administered to patients with proven P. vivax or P. ovale infection, there is a very high likelihood of relapse within weeks or months (sometimes years). When attempting a radical cure, primaquine requires the presence of quinine or chloroquine in order to work. If primaquine is given alone, the cure rate is only 21%. It is not known if other antimalarials such as mefloquine are likewise able to potentiate the effect of primaquine.