Antimalarial / 4-aminoquinoline

Chloroquine

Brand names: Avloclor, Nivaquine

Adult dose

Dose: Prophylaxis: 310mg base (500mg salt) once weekly. Treatment of sensitive P. vivax: 620mg base initially, then 310mg base at 6, 24 and 48h

Route: PO

Frequency: weekly (prophylaxis)

Paediatric dose

Dose: 5 mg base/kg

Route: PO

Frequency: weekly (prophylaxis)

Max: 310mg base

Prophylaxis

Paediatric weight-based calculator

Patient weight (kg)

Prophylaxis

Clinical pearls

P. falciparum widely resistant — generally NOT used for falciparum
Annual ophthalmic review if used long-term (e.g. SLE)

Contraindications

Epilepsy (lowers seizure threshold)
Severe psoriasis
Pre-existing maculopathy
Myasthenia gravis

Side effects

GI upset
Pruritus (esp. African patients)
Retinopathy with prolonged use
QT prolongation
Cardiomyopathy

Interactions

Antiepileptics (lowered threshold)
QT-prolonging drugs
Digoxin (raised levels)
Ciclosporin

Monitoring

Ophthalmic baseline + annual after 5 years
ECG if cardiac risk factors

Reference: BNFc; BNF; UK malaria guidelines; https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/chloroquine/. Verify against your local formulary and the latest BNF before prescribing.

Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.

Pathways