Study	Reason for exclusion
Aguwa 2010	Artemether versus quinine
Awad 2003	Not a randomized controlled trial
Barnes 2004	Not severe malaria
Bounyasong 2001	Not severe malaria
Haroon 2005	A quasi‐randomized controlled trial in which the first patient was allocated a treatment at random and then future patients were allocated their treatment using an alternating pattern
Krudsood 2003	Not a randomized controlled trial
Li 1990	Not severe malaria
McGready 2001a	Not severe malaria
McGready 2001b	Not a randomized controlled trial
Mohanty 2004	Not a randomized controlled trial (quasi‐randomized)
Newton 2001	Treatment comparison is artesunate versus artesunate and quinine
Osanuga 2009	Artemether versus quinine
Phu 2010	Artesunate versus artemether
Pukrittayakamee 2004	Not severe malaria
Win 1992	Not a randomized controlled trial
Zhao 2001	Not severe malaria