Optimal Treatments for Severe Malaria and the Threat Posed by Artemisinin Resistance.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Standard treatment for severe malaria is with artesunate; patient survival in the 24 hours immediately posttreatment is the key objective. Clinical trials use clearance rates of circulating parasites as their clinical outcome, but the pathology of severe malaria is attributed primarily to noncirculating, sequestered, parasites, so there is a disconnect between existing clinical metrics and objectives.

Methods

We extend existing pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling methods to simulate the treatment of 10000 patients with severe malaria and track the pathology caused by sequestered parasites.

Results

Our model recovered the clinical outcomes of existing studies (based on circulating parasites) and showed a "simplified" artesunate regimen was noninferior t

SUBMITTER: Jones S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6452316 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature