MEFLOQUINE = MQ oral

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    Prescription under medical supervision

     

     
    Do not administer the combination artesunate-mefloquine as separate tablets (i.e. artesunate tablets + mefloquine tablets). Use co-formulated tablets.

     

    Therapeutic action

    • Antimalarial

    Indications

    • Treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria
    • Treatment of uncomplicated malaria due to other Plasmodium species, when chloroquine cannot be used
    • Completion treatment following parenteral therapy for severe malaria

    Forms and strengths

    • 250 mg scored tablet

    Dosage and duration

    • Child 6 months and over (≥ 5 kg) and adult: 8 mg/kg once daily for 3 days (in combination with artesunate)

    Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions

    • Do not administer to patients with neuropsychiatric disorders (or history of), seizures, hypersensitivity to mefloquine or quinine; mefloquine treatment in the previous 4 weeks.
    • For completion treatment following parenteral therapy for severe malaria: do not administer if the patient developed neurological signs during the acute phase.
    • May cause:
      • gastrointestinal disturbances, dizziness, headache, sleeping disorders;
      • more rarely: neuropsychiatric reactions, heart rhythm disorders, hypo or hypertension, skin allergies.
    • If the patient vomits less than 30 minutes after administration, repeat the full dose. If the patient vomits within 30 to 60 minutes, re-administer a half the dose.
    • Do not combine with anti-epileptics (risk of seizures), co-artemether, chloroquine (risk of seizures, cardiac toxicity).
    • Do not administer simultaneously with quinine (risk of seizures, cardiac toxicity). If mefloquine is used after quinine IV, administer mefloquine 12 hours after the last dose of quinine.
    • Administer with caution to patients taking antiarrhythmics, beta-blockers, calcium-channel blockers or digitalis (risk of heart rhythm disorders).
    • Pregnancy: no contra-indication
    • Breast-feeding: no contra-indication

    Remarks

    • Also comes in co-formulated tablets containing artesunate 25 mg/mefloquine 50 mg and artesunate 100 mg/mefloquine 200 mg.

    Storage

     
    – Below 25 °C