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Coartem belongs to the group of drugs against infections, fungi, viruses and parasites. The drug is prepared in tablet form with the main ingredients being Artemether, Lumefantrine. Coartem is effective in the treatment of malaria.1. What is Coartem?
Coartem has anti-infective, anti-fungal, viral and anti-parasitic effects, is prepared in the form of tablets. The main ingredient of the drug is Artemether, Lumefantrine and other excipients, just enough for one tablet. Your package of the drug includes a box of 4 blisters, each blister of 6 tablets.2. What effect does Coartem have after use?
Artemether and Lumefantrine components in the drug have the ability to inhibit the growth of fever parasites in the red blood cells and the patient's body. These active ingredients have been tested and used extensively in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.Currently, people often use Coartem to treat cases of common malaria (without complications) and severe malaria (SRAT).
3. Instructions for using Coartem and drug dosage
You need to use the medicine exactly as prescribed by the doctor, do not take more, less than the prescribed amount or take it for longer than recommended. You can take Coartem with food. To be able to take the medicine easily, you can crush the medicine and mix it with 1 to 2 tablespoons of filtered water.Within 1 to 2 hours after taking the drug if the patient vomits, another dose should be used. If the condition persists, does not improve and cannot eat more food, then you need help from medical staff.
Dosage of Coartem may vary depending on the patient's age, weight, and disease severity.
Specific dosage to use Coartem is:
Adults and adolescents aged 16 years and older (≥ 35kg): Patients are recommended to use 4 tablets in the morning and 4 tablets in the evening, continuous treatment in two days. For children under 16 years old (weight ranges from 25 to 35 kg): Patients are recommended to use the drug in the morning and evening 3 tablets each time, consecutive treatment within 2 days. For children under 16 years old (weight ranges from 15 to 25 kg): Patients are recommended to use the drug in the morning and evening 2 tablets each time, for 2 consecutive days. For children under 16 years old (weight ranges from 5 to 15kg): Patients are recommended to use the drug in the morning and evening 1 tablet each time, for 2 consecutive days of treatment.
4. Precautions while using Coartem
Coartem should not be used for subjects with hypersensitivity to the components contained in the drug (artemether or lumefantrine) and children weighing less than 5 kg. Some drugs can interact with lumefantrine and artemether, so you should use caution when combining them. For the best treatment results, the patient needs to provide the doctor with his or her medical history as well as that of the family (cardiovascular disease, arrhythmia, long QT syndrome on electrocardiogram, liver and kidney diseases). Care should be taken when administering Coartem to subjects with low blood levels of potassium or magnesium. Several animal studies have shown that components of Coartem may be excreted in human milk. However, their impact on children is not clear. Therefore, the manufacturer recommends that caution should be exercised when using Coartem with subjects who are breast-feeding. To ensure safety, patients can use birth control methods during treatment with Coartem. The drug nefazodone, dexamethasone, rifampicin should not be used concurrently with Coartem because of possible drug interactions. This interaction can reduce the effectiveness of treatment or even cause undesirable side effects. Coartem is effective in the treatment of malaria, so this drug is trusted by many doctors. However, Coartem is a prescription drug, so you should only use it when prescribed by your doctor.