Chloroquine pharmacokinetics in pregnant and nonpregnant women with vivax malaria

Abstract

Purpose: We compared the pharmacokinetics of chloroquine in pregnant and nonpregnant women treated for Plasmodium vivax malaria. Methods: Twelve pregnant women and 15 nonpregnant women of child-bearing age with acute P. vivax malaria were treated with 25 mg chloroquine base/kg over 3 days on the northwestern border of Thailand. Blood concentrations of chloroquine and desethylchloroquine were measured using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection. Twenty-five women completed the pharmacokinetic study. Results: Although increasing gestational age was associated with reduced chloroquine AUC0→∞, there was no significant difference overall in the pharmacokinetics of chloroquine between pregnant and nonpregnant women. Fever was associated with lower chloroquine AUC0→∞values. Desethylchloroquine area under the curve (AUC) values were not significantly affected by pregnancy. Conclusions: Pregnancy did not significantly affect blood concentrations of chloroquine or its metabolite, desethylchloroquine, in women with P. vivax malaria. © 2008 The Author(s).