A 26-year-old woman with Plasmodium vivax malaria has completed chloroquine therapy and is about to start the 14-day radical cure course. Which investigation must be done before prescribing the radical cure drug?

• A Serum bilirubin
• B Reticulocyte count
• C Blood urea nitrogen
• D G6PD enzyme assay ✓

Explanation

Primaquine, the standard radical cure agent for vivax malaria, causes dose-dependent haemolysis in persons with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. National guidelines require G6PD status to be checked before the 14-day course so that deficient individuals can receive the weekly 8-week regimen instead. Liver function tests are irrelevant here because primaquine haemolysis, not hepatotoxicity, is the limiting toxicity.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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