Open AccessChloroquine administration for malaria suppression after abdominal surgery
Author(s) -
Schweizer W.,
Stahel E.,
Betschart B.,
Mwakilasa A.,
Burnier E.,
Stutz P.,
Tanner M.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
british journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.202
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1365-2168
pISSN - 0007-1323
DOI - 10.1002/bjs.1800740223
Subject(s) - chloroquine , medicine , malaria , malaria prophylaxis , oral administration , route of administration , surgery , anesthesia , pharmacology , immunology
Administration of chloroquine after major surgery is indicated in malaria endemic areas. In emergencies it is commonly administered parenterally after the operation. The present study, undertaken at St. Francis Hospital, Ifakara (Kilombero District), Tanzania, compared plasma chloroquine levels after oral and subcutaneous administration of 300 mg of chloroquine base in 14 patients after abdominal, non‐bowel‐resective surgery and in 12 controls. There were no significant differences in the plasma chloroquine levels of all groups, and the chloroquine concentrations reached suppressive levels for at least 3 days (>0·1 nmol/ml). Oral administration was well tolerated in both patients and controls. In all areas where the Plasmodium strains are still sensitive to chloroquine and where parenteral chloroquine may not be easily available, oral chloroquine represents a cheap, easy and safe alternative for postoperative prophylactic malaria suppression. It can be applied after abdominal non‐bowel‐resective emergency surgery.