1.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother
; 48(11): 4422-6, 2004 Nov.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-15504872
ABSTRACT
The pharmacokinetics of increasing doses of an intrarectal Cinchona alkaloid combination containing 96.1% quinine, 2.5% quinidine, 0.68% cinchonine, and 0.67% cinchonidine (Quinimax) was compared to that of parenteral regimens in 60 children with moderate malaria. Quinine exhibited a nonlinear pharmacokinetics, suggesting a saturation of rectal resorption. When early rejections appeared, blood quinine concentrations decreased by 30 to 50% and were restored by an immediate half-dose administration of the drug. Rectal administration of doses of 16 or 20 mg/kg of body weight led to concentration-time profiles in blood similar to those of parenteral regimens and could be an early treatment of childhood malaria.