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Evidence summaries

Intramuscular Arteether for Treating Severe Malaria

Arteether might possibly not be any worse than quinine for treating severe malaria in children, although the evidence is insufficient. Level of evidence: "D"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 2 studies with a total of 194 subjects. Both studies compared arteether with quinine in children with cerebral malaria. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of deaths (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.30; 2 studies, n=194), neurological complications (RR 1.18, 95% CI 0.31 to 4.46; 1 study, n=58), or other outcomes including time to regain consciousness, parasite clearance time, and fever clearance time. The meta-analyses lack statistical power to detect important differences.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (lack of blinding) and by imprecise results (few patients and wide confidence intervals).

References

  • Afolabi BB, Okoromah CN. Intramuscular arteether for treating severe malaria. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004;(4):CD004391 [Review content assessed as up-to-date: 27 April 2008]. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords