Pentaquine and quinine in the treatment of Korean vivax malaria; a controlled study in 101 patients.

Between May 1951 and October 1952 101 consecutive cases of P. vivax malaria acquired in Korea were studied in young adult white males. Alternate patients were given chloroquine diphosphate orally (1.0 gm., 0.5 gm. daily for the next three days) or a combination of pentaquine and quinine (pentaquine 10 mgm., quinine 0.67 gm., thrice daily for 14 days). Fifty-two patients received chloroquine, 49 the combined therapy; 67 patients were followed up (presumably by questionary) for 13 to 30 months. Of 35 patients given chloroquine 9 had proved relapses, while in 32 given combined therapy there were no relapses. " Symptoms " of malaria occurred subsequently in most of the former and in about onethird of the latter. The authors conclude after a review of the literature that the best treatment of acute P. vivax malaria might be " pentaquine or primaquine, 15 mg. daily, for 14 days with chloroquine, 1.0 Gm. the first day and 0.5 Gm. for the next three days ".
[The final recommendation has little to do directly with the experimental results, which, although clear enough, are expressed in the tables in infuriating percentages. Quotation from the discussion: " The radical cure of vivax malaria requires the destruction of the tissue parasites as well as those in the erythrocytes. . . . Pamaquine was one of the first drugs which seemed to have this property but it proved to be too toxic. .." (abstracter's italics).] B. G. Maegraith.