Neuropsychiatric Outcomes After Mefloquine Exposure Among U.S. Military Service Members.

Neuropsychiatric Outcomes After Mefloquine Exposure Among U.S. Military Service Members. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2017 Jan 11;96(1):159-166 Authors: Eick-Cost AA, Hu Z, Rohrbeck P, Clark LL Abstract Mefloquine was widely prescribed to U.S. military service members until 2009 when use was limited to personnel with contraindications to doxycycline and no contraindications to mefloquine. The need to estimate the occurrence of neuropsychiatric outcomes (NPOs) in service members prescribed mefloquine warranted a comprehensive evaluation of this issue. Active component service members filling a prescription for mefloquine, doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil (A/P) between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2013, were included in the analysis. The risk of developing incident NPOs and the risk of subsequent NPOs among subjects with a history of the condition were assessed. A total of 367,840 individuals were evaluated (36,538 received mefloquine, 318,421 received doxycycline, and 12,881 received A/P). Among deployed individuals prescribed mefloquine, an increased risk of incident anxiety was seen when compared with doxycycline recipients (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.12 [1.01-1.24]). Among nondeployed mefloquine recipients, an increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was seen when compared with A/P recipients (IRR = 1.83 [1.07-3.14]). An increased risk of tinnitus was seen for both deployed and nondeployed mefloquine recipients compared...
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research