Skip to main content

Table 1 Characteristics of severe malaria study participants by choice of in-hospital antimalarial administered

From: Parenteral artemisinins are associated with reduced mortality and neurologic deficits and improved long-term behavioral outcomes in children with severe malaria

 

Antimalarial treatment

Quinine (n=346)

Artemsinin derivatives (n=156)

P

Age, years

3.7 (1.9)

3.7 (1.7)

0.88

Sex, no. % female

142 (41.0)

61 (39.1)

0.68

Weight-for-age z score

−1.2 (1.1)

−1.0 (1.1)

0.21

Height-for-age z score

−1.2 (1.4)

−1.4 (1.4)

0.20

Duration of fever, history

3.8 (2.7)

3.8 (2.2)

0.96

Socioeconomic status score a

9.4 (3.0)

9.8 (3.4)

0.19

Home environment z score a

−0.10 (0.98)

0.12 (1.02)

0.03

Maternal education, No. (%) a

 Primary 6 or lower

121 (38.2)

55 (36.9)

0.25

 Primary 7

69 (21.8)

27 (18.1)

 

 Secondary or higher

107 (33.8)

62 (41.6)

 

 Not known

20 (6.3)

5 (3.4)

 

Paternal education, No. (%) a

 Primary 6 or lower

61 (19.2)

35 (23.5)

0.02

 Primary 7

50 (15.8)

25 (16.8)

 

 Secondary or higher

130 (41.0)

72 (48.3)

 

 Not known

76 (24.0)

17 (11.4)

 

Child any education, No. (%) a

92 (30.1)

52 (35.6)

0.24

Severe malaria group, No. (%)

 Cerebral malaria

186 (53.8)

83 (53.2)

0.91

 Severe malarial anemia

160 (46.2)

73 (46.8)

 

Deep breathing, No. (%)

20 (5.8)

20 (12.8)

0.007

Laboratory characteristics

 Hemoglobin, g/dL

4.8 (3.9, 7.2)

4.7 (3.6, 6.4)

0.16

 Glucose, mmol/L

6.3 (4.8, 8.5)

6.7 (4.8, 8.7)

0.60

 Lactate, mmol/L

3.8 (2.2, 6.6)

5.2 (3.1, 8.2)

0.0001

 WBC, x103/μL

10.2 (7.3, 15.1)

10.8 (7.9, 15.8)

0.39

 Platelet, x103/μL

103 (51, 176)

86 (39, 158)

0.08

 Lactate dehydrogenase, U/L

762 (608, 1058)

846 (680, 1153)

0.004

 Parasite density, parasites/uL

45280 (11400, 209460)

34485 (9640, 161360)

0.15

 Plasma PfHRP2, ng/mL

1654 (563, 3638)

2663 (609, 5671)

0.006

 Creatinine, mg/dL

0.38 (0.30, 0.49)

0.38 (0.28, 0.52)

0.79

 BUN, mg/dL

14 (10, 21)

16 (11, 23)

0.17

Clinical complications and recovery

 Parasite clearance time, days

2 (1, 3)

2 (1, 3)

0.27

 Coma durationb, hours

48 (29, 80)

56 (41, 85)

0.10

 Seizure number in hospital

1 (0, 2)

1 (0, 2)

0.24

 Hypoglycemia, No. (%)

26 (7.5)

10 (6.4)

0.66

Co-treatments

 Dextrose bolus, No. (%)

203 (58.7)

89 (57.1)

0.73

 Transfusion, No. (%)

254 (73.4)

133 (85.3)

0.003

 IV fluids, No. (%)

52 (15.0)

26 (16.7)

0.64

 Furosemide, No. (%)

71 (20.5)

16 (10.3)

0.005

 Antibiotics, No. (%)

174 (50.3)

90 (57.7)

0.12

Enrolled in iron study, No. (%)

77 (22.3)

79 (50.6)

<0.001

 Immediate iron, No. (%)

36 (10.4)

42 (26.9)

0.42

 Delayed iron, No. (%)

41 (11.9)

37 (23.7)

 
  1. Data presented as median (IQR) unless otherwise indicated
  2. aData available for surviving children who had a home visit
  3. bAssessed only in children with coma