Table 1.
Baseline clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients in the study*
| Characteristic | Group 1 (n = 68) | Group 2 (n = 69) | Group 3 (n = 66) | Group 4 (n = 64) | Group 5 (n = 66) | Group 6 (n = 66) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (M:F) | 42:26 | 46:24 | 46:19 | 44:21 | 41:21 | 37:29 |
| Mean (SD) age, years | 26.2 (9.4) | 24.5 (8.1) | 22.9 (5.8) | 23.7 (8.1) | 24.1 (8.2) | 23.7 (7.2) |
| Mean (SD) height, cm | 160.6 (8.4) | 159.2 (7.2) | 161.2 (7.1) | 160.4 (7.1) | 159.8 (6.6) | 159.0 (7.6) |
| Mean (SD) weight, kg | 53.6 (7.7) | 53.3 (7.9) | 53.0 (7.9) | 52.8 (8.5) | 52.8 (8.2) | 51.2 (7.2) |
| Fever, mean (SD) | ||||||
| Duration of fever before admission, days | 4.8 (3.6) | 4.2 (1.8) | 5.1 (4.7) | 5.2 (5.1) | 4.9 (3.1) | 4.8 (3.1) |
| Highest temperature, °C | 37.8 (1.0) | 38.0 (1.2) | 38.0 (1.0) | 37.8 (0.9) | 37.7 (0.8) | 37.9 (1.0) |
| No. of patients with | ||||||
| Splenomegaly | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Hepatomegaly | 21 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 9 |
| First malaria attack | 37 | 28 | 32 | 28 | 38 | 37 |
| Geometric mean parasitemia (range)/μL | 6,410 (75–65,520) | 6,016 (63–48,500) | 5,993 (42–88,480) | 5,192 (22–41,680) | 5,616 (49–54,120) | 6,323 (105–54,120) |
| Laboratory results, mean (SD) | ||||||
| Hematocrit, % | 37.2 (5.6) | 35.6 (5.9) | 37.0 (6.4) | 37.6 (5.9) | 36.2 (5.6) | 36.5 (6.2) |
| White blood cell count/μL | 5.5 (1.6) | 5.5 (1.7) | 6.3 (2.1) | 6.6 (2.1) | 6.1 (1.8) | 5.6 (1.5) |
| Blood urea nitrogen, mg/dL | 14.9 (4.2) | 15.7 (4.6) | 14.4 (4.9) | 14.8 (4.4) | 15.4 (7.1) | 14.6 (4.9) |
| Serum creatinine, mg/dL | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.8 (0.3) | 0.8 (0.1) |
| Total bilirubin, mg/dL | 1.5 (0.8) | 1.6 (1.1) | 1.7 (1.4) | 1.5 (1.0) | 1.5 (1.0) | 1.3 (0.6) |
| Serum AST, U/L | 34.3 (28.4) | 33.9 (21.7) | 39.2 (40.1) | 29.5 (19.1) | 31.5 (16.1) | 31.0 (15.2) |
| Serum ALT, U/L | 34.5 (48.4) | 35.8 (36.0) | 35.0 (37.8) | 30.1 (24.0) | 34.6 (35.0) | 32.6 (31.4) |
| Alkaline phosphatase, U/L | 117.4 (68.4) | 120.7 (55.1) | 123.9 (63.4) | 122.8 (61.0) | 127.2 (92.7) | 126.6 (62.7) |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.7 (0.4) | 3.7 (0.4) | 3.7 (0.5) | 3.8 (0.5) | 3.7 (0.5) | 3.7 (0.4) |
*
For definition of groups, see Patients and Methods. AST = aspartate aminotransferase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase.