Paper II — 2021 December (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) — Q14
2 min read
Paper II
2021 December (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme)
Question
Chloroquine / Diloxanide furoate in amebic liver abscess
Q140.3 marksShort Answers
Answer
Chosen drug: Chloroquine
Justification: Chloroquine concentrates in the liver at high tissue levels and is effective against the tissue-invasive trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica within hepatic tissue, making it useful for amoebic liver abscess (though metronidazole remains the actual first-line agent — of the two given options, chloroquine is the tissue-active choice). Diloxanide furoate is a luminal amoebicide only — it acts on organisms within the intestinal lumen and achieves negligible tissue/hepatic concentrations, making it ineffective for treating an established tissue infection like a liver abscess; it is used instead to eliminate luminal cysts after tissue-invasive disease is treated.
