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Optimized Griess Reaction for UV-Vis and Naked-eye Determination of Anti-malarial Primaquine
Published on: October 11, 2019
Artesunate versus quinine for treating severe malaria
K L Jones1, S Donegan, D G Lalloo
1Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, International Health Group, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK, L3 5QA. kats@liv.ac.uk
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|October 19, 2007
Summary
Artesunate significantly reduces death risk in severe malaria patients compared to quinine. This review highlights artesunate as the preferred treatment for adults, especially in Asia, but calls for more research on children.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Tropical Medicine
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Severe malaria causes over a million deaths annually.
- Quinine is the current standard treatment for severe malaria.
- Evidence for artesunate's superiority over quinine is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy and safety of artesunate versus quinine in treating severe malaria.
- To evaluate treatment outcomes including mortality, parasite clearance, and adverse events.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- Searched multiple databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, etc.) up to January 2007.
- Included RCTs comparing intravenous, intramuscular, or rectal artesunate with quinine in adults and children with severe malaria.
Main Results:
- Six trials with 1938 participants were included; all trials were conducted in Asia.
- Artesunate significantly reduced the risk of death (RR 0.62) and parasite clearance time.
- Artesunate also reduced the incidence of hypoglycemia compared to quinine.
Conclusions:
- Intravenous artesunate is the drug of choice for adults with severe malaria, particularly when acquired in Asia.
- Further research is urgently needed to evaluate artesunate's effectiveness in children, especially African children.
- The review identified insufficient data for firm conclusions on treating children or using intramuscular artesunate.
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