A practical guide to the selection and administration of drugs for the management of both uncomplicated malaria, including illness caused by Plasmodium vivax, and severe malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. As the immense complexity of malaria prohibits the development of universal guidelines for treatment or control, the book covers the principles governing the choice of drugs in great detail, so that recommendations can be adapted to the local malaria situation. Throughout, readers are reminded of the complexities of malaria control and cautioned against underestimation or superficial interpretation of the problem. Emphasis is placed on the importance of clinical diagnosis and management as the only available approach to the malaria problem in many parts of the world. The book opens with a review of factors that need to be considered in developing and implementing a policy on the use of drugs in malaria. Current practices in the assessment of symptoms and diagnosis of disease are briefly reviewed in the second chapter, which includes advice on microscopical examination and a discussion of risks associated with the taking of blood for smears or sampling. The most extensive part provides a highly detailed guide to the management and treatment of different forms of malaria. Uncomplicated malaria is covered first, with each of the currently used antimalarials profiled in terms of efficacy, dosage, indications, toxicity, side effects, and dangerous drug interactions. The chapter on severe falciparum malaria presents information that can help clinicians recognize severe disease, select an appropriate therapeutic drug, manage an emergency, avoid potentially fatal practices, and treat complications. Tables are used to summarize recommended therapeutic measures for chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria that should be followed at the peripheral or community level, the intermediate level, and the highest level of the health service. Subsequent chapters discuss the increasing difficulty of chemoprophylaxis, noting that serious adverse reactions to several important prophylactic drugs have been documented in the last few years, and offer advice on estimating the amount of antimalarial drugs necessary, their procurements, pricing policies, and systems for monitoring drug efficacy and adverse reactions. A concluding chapter evaluates eleven new antimalarial drugs, including artemisinin and its derivatives used in China.

eng fre rus spa.

WHODOC

WHO monograph

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