Military Obstetrics & Gynecology
Pharmacy

Category:

• Antimalarial

 Description:

• Pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine are used together in an oral preparation to treat or prevent malaria, however, the combination is no longer recommended for malaria prophylaxis due to the possibility of fatal toxic epidermal necrolysis.  Pyrimethamine inhibits parasitic dihydrofolate reductase, and sulfadoxine antagonizes parasitic para-aminobenzoic acid, thus causing the bacteriostatic activity.  The ingredients are used together because of their synergistic activity on folic acid production.

Indications:

• Malaria

Dosage:

Administered orally: available as tablets:   

• pyrimethamine 25mg

• sulfadoxine 500mg

Acute malaria, taken PO as a single dose.  Also for acute, chloroquine-resistant malarial attack, take as a single PO dose in combination with quinine

• Adult and child >45 kg:            3 tablets

• Child 31-45 kg:                        2 tablets

• Child 21-30 kg:                        1½ tablets

• Child 11-20 kg:                        1 tablet

• Child 5-10 kg:                          ½ tablet