The empirical use of anti-malarial agents in patients of unexplained pyrexia is a common practice in developing countries especially where the prevalence of malaria is high. The use of artemisinin-based combined therapies has gained prominence since some time, but chloroquine is still commonly utilized as monotherapy or in combination. Neuropsychiatric adverse effects of artemisinin are rarely reported, while chloroquine is associated with a range of such events. Further, the reporting of such side effects was more so in the 1980s and 1990s, and with the turn of this century, very few cases of chloroquine-induced psychosis especially in child and adolescent population have been reported. Herein, we report the development of psychosis in a young child who was exposed to chloroquine.
Keywords: Antimalarial drugs; artesunate; chloroquine; malaria; psychosis.