The use of primaquine in malaria infected patients with red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in Myanmar

Abstract

32 subjects with Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes, and 31 cases with Plasmodium vivax infection from two military hospitals (Lashio, Mandalay) were treated with quinine 600 mg three times a day for 7 days followed by primaquine 45 mg single dose for gametocytes and 45 mg weekly x 8 weeks for vivax malaria. Although screening of red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) was done prior to primaquine treatment, G6PD deficient subjects were not excluded from the trial. 20 patients hemizygous for mild G6PD deficiency (GdB- variant), 2 patients hemizygous for severe deficiency (Gd-Myanmar variant) completed the trial. No case of acute hemolysis was observed in all 22 patients with two genotypes of red cell G6PD deficiency status. Therefore, a single dose of primaquine 45 mg and/or weekly for 8 weeks is adequate for the treatment of patients with P. falciparum gametocytes and/or P. vivax malaria ignoring these red cell G6PD enzyme deficient variants in Myanmar.