Figure 1.

Trial profile

Main 7–30 day follow-up was at a median of 14 days after randomisation. *Randomised patients were excluded only if a prerandomisation blood smear was free of malaria parasites (26% of all smears were negative for malaria); or the entry form recorded that an antimalarial drug had already just been injected. In patients with smear-negative disease who were still alive but not injected or in clinic more than 6 h after randomisation, 28/475 artesunate-allocated vs 25/472 placebo-allocated patients died or were disabled.