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The Effects of Chloroquine Treatment on Blood Chemistry of Malaria Patient

Chloroquine is the generic form of a prescription medication that can be taken orally or intravenously. Despite its effectiveness in treating malaria, chloroquine has the potential to cause a number of side effects, including some that involve the chemistry of your blood.

  1. Time Frame

    • Blood chemistry side effects of chloroquine are most common when the drug is used for long-term therapy, such as taking the drug for several weeks or months.

    Types of Effects

    • Chloroquine has the potential to cause deficiencies of platelets, neutrophils, white blood cells and red blood cells. Medical terms for these deficiencies are thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, agranulocytosis and aplastic anemia.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms of aplastic anemia include fatigue, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat and pale skin, while thrombocytopenia causes easy bruising, the appearance of small red dots or petechiae on your skin, nose bleeds, bleeding gums and prolonged bleeding from minor cuts. The most common symptom of neutropenia and agranulocytosis is an increased incidence of bacterial, viral and fungal infections.

    Risks

    • Any of the blood chemistry effects of chloroquine can be life-threatening if untreated.

    Solution

    • Because of the effects of chloroquine on blood chemistry, doctors usually perform regular blood tests to measure the amounts of blood cells in your body in order to detect any deficiencies as soon as possible.

    Considerations

    • If you have a history of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase or any deficiency of white or red blood cells, neutrophils or platelets, it may not be safe for you to take chloroquine due to its effects upon blood chemistry, the Mayo Clinic warns.

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