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Overview
Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride is a {{{drugClass}}} that is FDA approved for the treatment of {{{indication}}}. Common adverse reactions include .
Adult Indications and Dosage
FDA-Labeled Indications and Dosage (Adult)
Indications
Prevention of Malaria
Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tabletsare indicated for the prophylaxis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, including in areas where chloroquine resistance has been reported.
Treatment of Malaria
Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tabletsare indicated for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria. Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets have been shown to be effective in regions where the drugs chloroquine, halofantrine, mefloquine, and amodiaquine may have unacceptable failure rates,
presumably due to drug resistance.
Dosage
The daily dose should be taken at the same time each day with food or a milky drink. In the event of vomiting within 1 hour after dosing, a repeat dose should be taken.
Prevention of Malaria
Start prophylactic treatment withatovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets 1 or 2 days before entering a malaria-endemic area and continue daily during the stay and for 7 days after return.
Adults: One atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablet(adult strength = 250 mg atovaquone/100 mg proguanil hydrochloride) per day.
Treatment of Acute Malaria
Adults: Fouratovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets(adult strength; total daily dose 1 g atovaquone/400 mg proguanil hydrochloride) as a single daily dose for 3 consecutive day.
Renal Impairment
Do not useatovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets for malaria prophylaxis in patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance <30 mL/min). Use with caution for the treatment of malaria in patients with severe renal impairment, only if the benefits of the 3 day treatment regimen outweigh the potential risks associated with increased drug exposure. No dosage adjustments are needed in patients with mild (creatinine clearance 50 to 80 mL/min) or moderate (creatinine clearance 30 to 50 mL/min) renal impairment.
DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS
Each atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets (adult strength) contains 250 mg atovaquone USP and 100 mg proguanil hydrochloride USP. Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets are pinkish brown to brown colored, circular, biconvex beveled edge, film-coated tablets with ‘404’ debossed on one side and ‘G’ debossed on the other side.
Off-Label Use and Dosage (Adult)
Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Guideline-Supported Use of Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride in adult patients.
Non–Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Non–Guideline-Supported Use of Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride in adult patients.
Pediatric Indications and Dosage
FDA-Labeled Indications and Dosage (Pediatric)
There is limited information regarding FDA-Labeled Use of Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride in pediatric patients.
Off-Label Use and Dosage (Pediatric)
Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Guideline-Supported Use of Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride in pediatric patients.
Non–Guideline-Supported Use
There is limited information regarding Off-Label Non–Guideline-Supported Use of Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride in pediatric patients.
Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride is contraindicated for prophylaxis of P. falciparum malaria in patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance <30 mL/min) because of pancytopenia in patients with severe renal impairment treated with proguanil.
Warnings
Vomiting and Diarrhea
Absorption of atovaquone may be reduced in patients with diarrhea or vomiting. If atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride is used in patients who are vomiting, parasitemia should be closely monitored and the use of an antiemetic considered. [See Dosage and Administration (2).] Vomiting occurred in up to 19% of pediatric patients given treatment doses of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride. In the controlled clinical trials, 15.3% of adults received an antiemetic when they received atovaquone/proguanil and 98.3% of these patients were successfully treated. In patients with severe or persistent diarrhea or vomiting, alternative antimalarial therapy may be required.
Relapse of Infection
In mixed P. falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections, P. vivax parasite relapse occurred commonly when patients were treated with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride alone.
In the event of recrudescent P. falciparum infections after treatment with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride or failure of chemoprophylaxis with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride, patients should be treated with a different blood schizonticide.
Hepatotoxicity
Elevated liver laboratory tests and cases of hepatitis and hepatic failure requiring liver transplantation have been reported with prophylactic use of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride.
Severe or Complicated Malaria
Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride has not been evaluated for the treatment of cerebral malaria or other severe manifestations of complicated malaria, including hyperparasitemia, pulmonary edema, or renal failure. Patients with severe malaria are not candidates for oral therapy
Adverse Reactions
Clinical Trials Experience
Clinical Trials Experience
Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.
Because the tablets contain Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride, the type and severity of adverse reactions associated with each of the compounds may be expected. The lower prophylactic doses of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride were better tolerated than the higher treatment doses.
Prophylaxis of P. falciparum Malaria: In 3 clinical trials (2 of which were placebo-controlled) 381 adults (mean age 31 years) received atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride for the prophylaxis of malaria; the majority of adults were black (90%) and 79% were male. In a clinical trial for the prophylaxis of malaria, 125 pediatric patients (mean age 9 years) received atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride ; all subjects were black and 52% were male. Adverse experiences reported in adults and pediatric patients, considered attributable to therapy, occurred in similar proportions of subjects receiving atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride or placebo in all studies. Prophylaxis with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride was discontinued prematurely due to a treatment-related adverse experience in 3 of 381 (0.8%) adults and 0 of 125 pediatric patients.
In a placebo-controlled study of malaria prophylaxis with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride involving 330 pediatric patients (aged 4 to 14 years) in Gabon, a malaria-endemic area, the safety profile of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride was consistent with that observed in the earlier prophylactic studies in adults and pediatric patients. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride were abdominal pain (13%), headache (13%), and cough (10%). Abdominal pain (13% vs. 8%) and vomiting (5% vs. 3%) were reported more often with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride than with placebo. No patient withdrew from the study due to an adverse experience with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride. No routine laboratory data were obtained during this study.
Non-immune travelers visiting a malaria-endemic area received MALARONE (n = 1,004) for prophylaxis of malaria in 2 active-controlled clinical trials. In one study (n = 493), the mean age of subjects was 33 years and 53% were male; 90% of subjects were white, 6% of subjects were black and the remaining were of other racial/ethnic groups. In the other study (n = 511), the mean age of subjects was 36 years and 51% were female; the majority of subjects (97%) were white. Adverse experiences occurred in a similar or lower proportion of subjects receiving atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets than an active comparator (Table 1). Fewer neuropsychiatric adverse experiences occurred in subjects who received MALARONE than mefloquine. Fewer gastrointestinal adverse experiences occurred in subjects receiving atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets than chloroquine/proguanil. Compared with active comparator drugs, subjects receiving atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride tablets had fewer adverse experiences overall that were attributed to prophylactic therapy (Table 1). Prophylaxis with MALARONE was discontinued prematurely due to a treatment-related adverse experience in 7 of 1,004 travelers.
This image is provided by the National Library of Medicine.
In a third active-controlled study, atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride (n = 110) was compared with chloroquine/proguanil (n = 111) for the prophylaxis of malaria in 221 non-immune pediatric patients (2 to 17 years of age). The mean duration of exposure was 23 days for atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride , 46 days for chloroquine, and 43 days for proguanil, reflecting the different recommended dosage regimens for these products. Fewer patients treated with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride reported abdominal pain (2% vs. 7%) or nausea (<1% vs. 7%) than children who received chloroquine/proguanil. Oral ulceration (2% vs. 2%), vivid dreams (2% vs. <1%), and blurred vision (0% vs. 2%) occurred in similar proportions of patients receiving either atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride or chloroquine/proguanil, respectively. Two patients discontinued prophylaxis with chloroquine/proguanil due to adverse events, while none of those receiving atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride discontinued due to adverse events.
Treatment of Acute, Uncomplicated P. falciparum Malaria: In 7 controlled trials, 436 adolescents and adults received atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride for treatment of acute, uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria. The range of mean ages of subjects was 26 to 29 years; 79% of subjects were male. In these studies, 48% of subjects were classified as other racial/ethnic groups, primarily Asian; 42% of subjects were black and the remaining subjects were white. Attributable adverse experiences that occurred in ≥5% of patients were abdominal pain (17%), nausea (12%), vomiting (12%), headache (10%), diarrhea (8%), asthenia (8%), anorexia (5%), and dizziness (5%). Treatment was discontinued prematurely due to an adverse experience in 4 of 436 (0.9%) adolescents and adults treated with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride .
In 2 controlled trials, 116 pediatric patients (weighing 11 to 40 kg) (mean age 7 years) received atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride for the treatment of malaria. The majority of subjects were black (72%); 28% were of other racial/ethnic groups, primarily Asian. Attributable adverse experiences that occurred in ≥5% of patients were vomiting (10%) and pruritus (6%). Vomiting occurred in 43 of 319 (13%) pediatric patients who did not have symptomatic malaria but were given treatment doses of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride for 3 days in a clinical trial. The design of this clinical trial required that any patient who vomited be withdrawn from the trial. Among pediatric patients with symptomatic malaria treated with MALARONE, treatment was discontinued prematurely due to an adverse experience in 1 of 116 (0.9%).
In a study of 100 pediatric patients (5 to <11 kg body weight) who received atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, only diarrhea (6%) occurred in ≥5% of patients as an adverse experience attributable to atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride. In 3 patients (3%), treatment was discontinued prematurely due to an adverse experience.
Abnormalities in laboratory tests reported in clinical trials were limited to elevations of transaminases in malaria patients being treated with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride . The frequency of these abnormalities varied substantially across trials of treatment and were not observed in the randomized portions of the prophylaxis trials.
One active-controlled trial evaluated the treatment of malaria in Thai adults (n = 182); the mean age of subjects was 26 years (range 15 to 63 years); 80% of subjects were male. Early elevations of ALT and AST occurred more frequently in patients treated with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride (n = 91) compared to patients treated with an active control, mefloquine (n = 91). On Day 7, rates of elevated ALT and AST with atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride and mefloquine (for patients who had normal baseline levels of these clinical laboratory parameters) were ALT 26.7% vs. 15.6%; AST 16.9% vs. 8.6%, respectively. By Day 14 of this 28-day study, the frequency of transaminase elevations equalized across the 2 groups
Postmarketing Experience
In addition to adverse events reported from clinical trials, the following events have been identified during postmarketing use of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride . Because they are reported voluntarily from a population of unknown size, estimates of frequency cannot be made. These events have been chosen for inclusion due to a combination of their seriousness, frequency of reporting, or potential causal connection to atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride.
Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders: Neutropenia and anemia. Pancytopenia in patients with severe renal impairment treated with proguanil.
There is limited information regarding Patient Counseling Information of Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride in the drug label.
Precautions with Alcohol
Alcohol-Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride interaction has not been established. Talk to your doctor about the effects of taking alcohol with this medication.
