title: A controlled clinical trial of artemether (qinghaosu derivative) versus quinine in complicated and severe falciparum malaria.
abstract: 31 pairs of patients with complicated falciparum malaria (with anaemia, jaundice, raised blood urea, hyperpyrexia or more than 2% of erythrocytes parasitized) were treated with artemether or quinine. All patients in the artemether group survived but 2 of those treated with quinine died. Fever clearance time and parasite clearance time of patients treated with artemether were significantly shorter than in the quinine-treated group. One patient who failed to respond to quinine within 72 h was saved with artemether. Follow-up of the patients showed that 9 of 23 (39.1%) recrudesced on day 28 in the artemether group. In the quinine group the recrudescence rate was 9% (2 of 22). Hence artemether may be considered as one of the drugs of choice for severely ill patients; it may even be better than quinine.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Unit for Cerebral and Complicated Malaria, Department of Medical Research, Rangoon, Burma.
authors.lastname: Pe Than Myint
authors.lastname: Tin Shwe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077549:Artemether; D037621:Artemisinins; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum; D011714:Pyrans / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011803:Quinine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins; D011714:Pyrans; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D011803:Quinine; D000077549:Artemether