QUININE AND ARTEMETHER IN THE TREATMENT OF SEVERE MALARIA IN CHILDREN

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether artemether was a comparable alternative to quinine in the treatment of severe malaria in Nigerian children. We conducted a randomized prospective study comparing quinine and artemether therapies in 90 Nigerian children with severe malaria. Mortality was lower in quinine group (13.0 %) than artemether (15.9 %), Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.446 (95 % Confidence Interval (CI), 0.124 to 1.603, p = 0.249 ). The parasitaemia clearance on day 3 by quinine and artemether was 96.8 and 99.0 % (p = 0.422), respectively, while on day 14 it was 100 % for both medicines. Fever clearance by quinine and artemether was 87.7 and 90 % (p = 0.753), respectively, on day 3 but it increased to 100 and 96.42 % (p = 0.072), respectively, on day 14. For the quinine group, 71.74 % of the patients spent less than one week in the hospital versus 61.76 % for the artemether group (p = 0.829, OR = 0.883, 95 % CI = 0.284 to 2.742). Artemether was a comparable alternative to quinine in the treatment of severe paediatric malaria.