Plasma Concentrations of Tafenoquine, a New Long-Acting Antimalarial Agent, in Thai Soldiers Receiving Monthly Prophylaxis

We measured plasma tafenoquine concentrations in Thai soldiers given a monthly regimen of tafenoquine to determine whether these concentrations adequately suppressed malarial infections on the Thai-Cambodian border. After receiving a treatment course of artesunate and doxycycline, 104 male soldiers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 2003-12, Vol.37 (12), p.1654-1658
Main Authors: Edstein, Michael D., Kocisko, David A., Walsh, Douglas S., Eamsila, Chirapa, Charles, Bruce G., Rieckmann, Karl H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aminoquinolines - blood
Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents
Antimalarials
Antimalarials - blood
Antiparasitic agents
Artemisinins - blood
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Blood plasma
Chemoprevention
Dosage
Double-Blind Method
Doxycycline - blood
Human experimentation
Human protozoal diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Major Articles
Malaria
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Military Personnel
Parasitemia
Parasites
Parasitic diseases
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Protozoal diseases
Sesquiterpenes - blood
Soldiers
Thailand
Volunteerism
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Summary:We measured plasma tafenoquine concentrations in Thai soldiers given a monthly regimen of tafenoquine to determine whether these concentrations adequately suppressed malarial infections on the Thai-Cambodian border. After receiving a treatment course of artesunate and doxycycline, 104 male soldiers were administered a loading dose of tafenoquine (400 mg daily for 3 days), followed by tafenoquine monthly (400 mg every 4 weeks) for 5 months. Consecutive monthly mean (° standard deviation) trough plasma tafenoquine concentrations were 223 ° 41, 127 ° 29, 157 ° 51, 120 ° 24, and 88 ° 20 ng/mL. Only 1 soldier developed malaria during the study. At the time of malaria diagnosis, his plasma tafenoquine concentration was 40 ng/mL, which was ∼3-fold lower than the trough concentrations of the other soldiers. Although low tafenoquine concentrations appear to be uncommon, additional investigations are needed to determine the relationship between plasma tafenoquine concentrations and suppression of malaria.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1086/379718