Table 8.
Additional data: Artemether versus quinine in children
| Pre‐specified outcome | Trial reported outcome | Trial | No. of participants | Artemether | Quinine | Comparative results reported in article |
| Coma resolution time (h) | Median (IQR) |
Murphy 1996 KEN | 160 | 12 (2.8 to 96) | 13 (2.8 to 96) | Not significantly different |
| Median (IQR) |
van Hensbroek 1996 GMB | 576 | 26 (15 to 48) | 20 (12 to 43) | P = 0.046 | |
| Median (IQR) |
Taylor 1998 MWI | 164 | 18 (8 to 30) | 20 (10 to 54) | Not significantly different | |
| Coma recovery (%) on Day 3 | Aguwa 2010 NGA | 90 | 15.9% | 21.4% | RR = 0.763 (95% CI 0.065 to 9.015) | |
| Mean (SD) | Osonuga 2009 NGA | 32 | 4.5 (13.05) | 9 (24.59) | P = 0.523 | |
| Mean (SD) | Minta 2005 MLI | 67 | 30.57 (29.02) | 25.15 (31.62) | P = 0.53 | |
| Time to hospital discharge | % spending less than one week in hospital |
Aguwa 2010 NGA | 90 | 61.76% | 71.74% | P = 0.829 |
| Fever clearance (h) | Median (IQR) |
Murphy 1996 KEN | 160 | 32 (4 to 86) | 32 (4 to 96) | Not significantly different |
| van Hensbroek 1996 GMB | 576 | 30 (16 to 48) | 33 (12‐60) | P = 0.8 | ||
| Taylor 1998 MWI | 164 | 31 (24 to 52) | 45 (33 to 60) | "Significant" | ||
| Fever clearance (%) on Day 3 | Aguwa 2010 NGA | 90 | 90.0% | 87.7% | P = 0.753 | |
| Parasite clearance (h) | Median (IQR) |
Murphy 1996 KEN | 160 | 39.5 (24 to 45) | 48 (37 to 56) |
P < 0.001 |
| van Hensbroek 1996 GMB | 576 | 48 (36 to 60) | 60 (48 to 72) | P < 0.001 | ||
| Taylor 1998 MWI | 164 | 32 (25 to 36) | 40 (32 to 48) | 'significant' | ||
| Parasite clearance (%) on Day 3 | Aguwa 2010 NGA | 90 | 99.0% n = 44 |
96.8% n = 46 |
P = 0.422 | |
| Needing blood transfusion | ‐ | van Hensbroek 1996 GMB | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | "The two groups were similar in terms of the need for blood transfusions,and the incidence of secondary bacterial infections (data not shown)." |
IQR = interquartile range.