| Side effects |
mefloquine
|
% side effects
Artemether
|
| Nausea | 3 (25) | 2 (6) |
| Vomiting | 4 (33 )* | 0 |
| Diarrhoea | 1 (8) | 1 (3) |
| Abdominal pain | 1 (8) | 3 (9) |
| Dizziness | 4 (33)+ | 1 (3) |
| Bradycardia | 5 (42) | 10 (29) |
(Karbwang et al 1992) * p = 0,003 and +p = 0.013 compared to artemeter.
To establish the relevance of the above comparison,
mefloquine is shown below (table 4) in another study to have more side
effects than described above. Side effects here were to those of choroquine,
except for nausea, which was significantly higher in chloroquine prophylaxis.
TABLE 4: Side effects of chloroquine compared with mefloquine
in long-term prophylaxis in Peace Corps volunteers.
| Side effects | % side effects
Mefloquine
|
% side effects
Chloroquine*
|
| Strange dreams | 24.7 | 26 |
| Nausea | 8.7 | 22.1+ |
| Diarrhoea | 4.0 | 6.5 |
| Dizziness | 8.4 | 10.0 |
| Insomnia | 9.0 | 2.5 |
| Weakness | 5.2 | 7.5 |
| Visual difficulty | 6.5 | 45.8 |
| Any event | 40.6 | 45.8 |
(Lobel et al 1993) + p = 0.0001, *chloroquine with or without
proguanil.
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