Investigating causal pathways in severe falciparum malaria: A pooled retrospective analysis of clinical studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Severe falciparum malaria is a medical emergency characterised by potentially lethal vital organ dysfunction. Patient fatality rates even with parenteral artesunate treatment remain high. Despite considerable research into adjuvant therapies targeting organ and tissue dysfunction, none have shown efficacy apart from renal replacement therapy. Understanding the causal contributions of clinical and laboratory abnormalities to mortality is essential for the design and evaluation of novel therapeutic interventions.

Methods and findings

We used a structural model causal inference approach to investigate causal relationships between epidemiological, laboratory, and clinical variables in patients with severe falciparum malaria enrolled in clinical trials and their in-hos

SUBMITTER: Leopold SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6707545 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature