Quinidine for malaria

Examples

Generic Name
quinidine

How It Works

Quinidine prevents the development of malaria parasites in the blood.

Quinidine is given through a needle directly into a vein (intravenously, or IV) for a maximum of 7 days.

Why It Is Used

You use quinidine for severe malaria infection if:

• You cannot take oral antimalarial medicines.
• You have serious complications (such as heart failure or kidney failure).
• The percentage of red blood cells infected (density of parasites) is greater than 5% and the infection is very severe.

How Well It Works

Quinidine is effective in the treatment of severe Plasmodium falciparum infections.

Side Effects

Side effects of quinidine include:

• Very low levels of sugar in the blood (hypoglycemia).
• Nausea.
• Blurred vision.
• Headache.
• Belly pain.
• Ringing in the ears and temporary loss of hearing.
• An abnormal heartbeat.

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

What To Think About

You should stop taking intravenous (IV) quinidine as soon as you can take oral medicines.

In the United States, intravenous quinidine is used because intravenous quinine is not available.

Complete the new medication information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.

Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS	Last Updated: May 8, 2009
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine W. David Colby IV, MSc, MD, FRCPC - Infectious Disease
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