McKenna's Pharmacology for Nursing, 2e

12

Antiprotozoal agents

Learning objectives Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Outline the life cycle of the protozoan that causes malaria.

2. Describe the therapeutic actions, indications, pharmacokinetics, contraindications, proper administration, most common adverse reactions and important drug–drug interactions associated with drugs used to treat malaria. 3. Describe other common protozoal infections, including cause and clinical presentation. 4. Compare and contrast the antimalarials with other drugs used to treat protozoal infections. 5. Outline the care considerations for individuals receiving an antiprotozoal agent across the lifespan.

Test your current knowledge of antiprotozoal agents with a PrepU Practice Quiz!

Glossary of key terms amoebiasis: amoebic dysentery, which is caused by intestinal invasion of the trophozoite stage of the protozoan Entamoeba histolytica Anopheles mosquito: type of mosquito that is essential to the life cycle of Plasmodium ; injects the protozoa into humans for further maturation cinchonism: syndrome of quinine toxicity characterised by nausea, vomiting, tinnitus and vertigo giardiasis: protozoal intestinal infection that causes severe diarrhoea and epigastric distress; may lead to serious malnutrition leishmaniasis: skin, mucous membrane or visceral infection caused by a protozoan passed to humans by the bites of sand flies malaria: protozoal infection with Plasmodium , characterised by cyclic fever and chills as the parasite is released from ruptured red blood cells; causes serious liver, CNS, heart and lung damage Plasmodium : a protozoan that causes malaria in humans; its life cycle includes the Anopheles mosquito, which injects protozoa into humans Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP): opportunistic infection that occurs when the immune system is depressed; a frequent cause of pneumonia in people with AIDS and in those who are receiving immunosuppressive therapy protozoa: single-celled organisms that pass through several stages in their life cycle, including at least one phase as a human parasite; found in areas of poor sanitation and hygiene and crowded living conditions trichomoniasis: infestation with a protozoan that causes vaginitis in women but no signs or symptoms in men trophozoite: a developing stage of a parasite, which uses the host for essential nutrients needed for growth trypanosomiasis: African sleeping sickness, which is caused by a protozoan that inflames the CNS and is spread to humans by the bite of the tsetse fly; also, Chagas disease, which causes a serious cardiomyopathy after the bite of the house fly

ANTIMALARIALS artemether-lumefantrine doxycycline hydroxychloroquine

OTHER ANTIPROTOZOALS atovaquone metronidazole pentamidine

mefloquine primaquine quinine

pyrimethamine tinidazole