SynthesisMalaria journal2014
Mefloquine safety and tolerability in pregnancy: a systematic literature review.
Synthesis in Malaria journal, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mefloquine for preventing malaria in pregnant women.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Mefloquine for preventing malaria in pregnant women.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Mefloquine for preventing malaria during travel to endemic areas.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Four artemisinin-based treatments in African pregnant women with malaria.Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2016Trial
- Trial
- A Randomized Trial to Compare the Safety, Tolerability, and Effectiveness of 3 Antimalarial Regimens for the Prevention of Malaria in Nigerian Patients With Sickle Cell Disease.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2015Trial
- Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy with mefloquine in HIV-negative women: a multicentre randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2014Trial
- Trial
- Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Malaria Preventive Measures in Pregnant Women with a Focus on HIV Status: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Drugs for Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy: Current Knowledge and Way Forward.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Review
- Malaria in the pregnant traveler.Journal of travel medicine · 2020Article
- Recent Progress in the Development of New Antimalarial Drugs with Novel Targets.Drug design, development and therapy · 2020Review
- Treatment of uncomplicated and severe malaria during pregnancy.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2018Review
- Therapeutic Approaches for Zika Virus Infection of the Nervous System.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2017Review
- Adverse effects of mefloquine for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Thailand: A pooled analysis of 19, 850 individual patients.PloS one · 2017Article
- Anticonvulsant effects of mefloquine on generalized tonic-clonic seizures induced by two acute models in rats.BMC neuroscience · 2015Article
- Atovaquone-proguanil exposure in pregnancy and risk for adverse fetal and infant outcomes: A retrospective analysis.Travel medicine and infectious diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundControl of malaria in pregnant women is still a major challenge as it constitutes an important cause of maternal and neonatal mortality. Mefloquine (MQ) has been used for malaria chemoprophylaxis in non-immune travellers for several decades and it constitutes a potential candidate for intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women (IPTp).
methodsThe safety of MQ, including its safety in pregnancy, is controversial and a continuing subject of debate. Published studies which evaluated the use of MQ for malaria prevention or treatment in pregnant women and which reported data on drug tolerability and/or pregnancy outcomes have been reviewed systematically.
resultsEighteen articles fitted the inclusion criteria, only one study was double-blind and placebo controlled. No differences were found in the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to MQ compared to those exposed to other anti-malarials or to the general population. MQ combined with artesunate seems to be better tolerated than standard quinine therapy for treatment of non-severe falciparum malaria, but a MQ loading dose (10 mg/kg) is associated with more dizziness compared with placebo. When used for IPTp, MQ (15 mg/kg) may have more side effects than sulphadoxine- pyrimethamine.
conclusionsIn the published literature there are no indications that MQ use during pregnancy carries an increased risk for the foetus. Ideally, the use of MQ to prevent malaria should be based on a risk-benefit analysis of adverse effects against the risk of acquiring the infection. For this purpose double-blinded randomized controlled trials in African pregnant women are much needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.