A patient has severe P. falciparum malaria and is unable to tolerate oral medications. Which regimen is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment of choice for this patient?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For patients with severe malaria, IV quinidine gluconate is the only drug approved by the FDA for parenteral therapy of malaria; it should be accompanied by clindamycin, doxycycline, or tetracycline. Artesunate is considered the drug of choice for severe malaria, but it has not yet been approved by the FDA and must be used under the provisions of an Investigational New Drug protocol from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Quinine is effective but has serious cardiotoxic side effects, so it is not a drug of first choice. Mefloquine and primaquine are not available as an IV medication.

A Patient Has Severe P