Determination of Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Quinine and its Relationship with Treatment Outcomes in Children, Pregnant Women, and Elderly Patients

The article reviewed existing information on the pharmacokinetics of quinine in children, pregnant women, and elderly populations, identified factors that influence quinine pharmacokinetics, and analysed the relationship between the pharmacokinetics and treatment outcomes (therapeutic and safety) of various dosage regimens of quinine.
The databases used in this systematic search for relevant research publications published up to October 2020 using the predefined search parameters were Web of Sciences, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and PubMed. Quinine pharmacokinetics in these vulnerable groups were found to be influenced by the degree of infection, delivery routes, and nutritional condition. For the elderly and children with uncomplicated malaria, the recommended dosages for both uncomplicated and severe malaria are generally enough. In pregnant women with both uncomplicated and difficult malaria, as well as children with complicated malaria, dose adjustments may be necessary. Pharmacokinetics studies with high sample sizes and review of MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) in these sensitive categories of patients should be considered.