Pharmacokinetics and efficacy of piperaquine and chloroquine in melanesian children with uncomplicated malaria

Abstract

The disposition of chloroquine (CQ) and the related 4-aminoquinoline, piperaquine (PQ), were compared in Papua New Guinean children with uncomplicated malaria. Twenty-two children were randomized to 3 days of PQ phosphate at 20 mg/kg/day (12 mg of PQ base/kg/day) coformulated with dihydroartemisinin (DHA-PQ), and twenty children were randomized to 3 days of CQ at 10 mg base/kg/day with a single dose of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (CQ-SP). After a 42-day intensive sampling protocol, PQ, CQ, and its active metabolite monodesethyl-chloroquine (DECQ) were assayed in plasma by using high-performance liquid chromatography. A two-compartment model with first-order absorption was fitted to the PQ and ..