STUDY TO KNOW THE IN VIVO SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF QUININE-DOXYCYCLINE GIVEN IN COMBINATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM MALARIA

Objective: To know the in vivo efficacy and adverse effects of quinine doxycycline in malaria caused by Plasmodium (P.) falciparum.Study Design: A prospective observational study. Place and Duration: In the medicine Unit II of Jinnah Hospital Lahore for one year duration from September 2017 to September 2018.Methodology: Three hundred and thirty-seven patients with positive P. falciparum in the malaria test met the selection criteria and were included in the study. The mean, minimum and maximum values were calculated with the standard age deviation, the time to remove the fever from the malaria parasite index and the duration of the parasites. In addition, the frequency of various side effects and deaths observed during this study was also calculated. Results: Of the 337 subjects, 256 had P. falciparum and 81 had mixed infections involving both P. falciparum and P. vivax. The mean time to remove fever in cases infected with P. falciparum and mixed infection was 46.3 hours and 44.16 hours, respectively. The mean elimination times of parasites in subjects infected with P. falciparum and mixed infection were 70.32 hours and 68 hours, respectively. Approximately 3.3% of subjects had mild to moderate side effects such as tinnitus, prolongation of QT interval and vomiting. The mortality rate observed in this study was around 0.6%. Conclusion: Combination therapy with doxycycline can be used safely and effectively in the treatment of P. falciparum malaria. Key words: doxycycline quinine combination, malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, mixed infection