Management of severe malarial infection

Severe malaria is a major cause of infant and childhood death in the tropics. Effective management relies on rapid diagnosis, prompt administration of parenteral schizonticidal antimalarial drugs, careful fluid balance, prevention of convulsions and early recognition of complications such as hypoglycemia, metabolic acidosis, anemia, pulmonary edema, renal failure, bleeding and supervening bacterial sepsis. The mortality of treated cerebral malaria remains 20%. New, more rapidly acting antimalarials and earlier referral of children with complicated infections should reduce this unacceptable death rate.