Pinn G
Nambour General Hospital, Queensland.
Aust Fam Physician. 1998 Oct;27(10):922-3.
The bark of the cinchona tree was used by the Incas of South America to treat tropical fevers. It was brought back to Europe by the Jesuit priests and used in error to treat all types of fever. Because of its cost and lack of availability, apothecaries found an alternative antipyretic in willow bark. Subsequently salicylates were isolated from willow and quinine from cinchona bark. Quinine is used worldwide for the treatment of fever due to malaria, but in the Western environment has long been used for muscle cramps because of its neuro muscular junction blocking action.
Quinine is a widely used medication which has been reported to cause thrombocytopenia on occasion. This potentially life threatening complication should be borne in mind when it is prescribed for minor symptoms such as muscle cramps.
南美洲的印加人用金鸡纳树的树皮治疗热带热病。耶稣会传教士将其带回欧洲，并错误地用于治疗各种类型的发热。由于其成本高且难以获取，药剂师在柳树皮中找到了一种替代退烧药。随后，从柳树中分离出了水杨酸盐，从金鸡纳树皮中分离出了奎宁。奎宁在全球范围内用于治疗疟疾引起的发热，但在西方环境中，由于其神经肌肉接头阻断作用，长期以来一直用于治疗肌肉痉挛。
奎宁是一种广泛使用的药物，偶尔有报道称其会导致血小板减少。当为肌肉痉挛等轻微症状开这种药时，应牢记这种潜在的危及生命的并发症。
