Quinine for cramps.

BACKGROUND: 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.

DISCUSSION: 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.