Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of the study participants.
| Primary infected | Previously exposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 21 | 44 |
| Female sex (%) | 4 (19) | 7 (23) |
| Median age, years (range) | 34 (21–59) | 40 (27–70) |
| Median cumulative time of residency in endemic area, years (range) | 0 (0–3) | 25 (13–39) |
| Median time since residency in endemic area, years (range) | – | 14 (0–46) |
| Median time from symptom onset to diagnosis, days (range) | 3 (0–11) | 3 (1–13) |
| Median parasitaemia, % infected RBCs (range) | 0.45 (<0.1–8.0) | 0.3 (<0.1–7.6) |
| Late treatment failurea (%) | 5 (25) | 0 (0) |
| Severe malariab (%) | 1 (5) | 4 (9.7) |
| Treated in intensive care unit (%) | 1 (5) | 2 (4.9) |
| Initial intraveneous artesunate treatment (%) | 6 (30) | 10 (24.4) |
aPresented with recrudescent parasitaemia and fever 20–28 days following initial treatment.
bSevere malaria was defined according to the WHO criteria which include impaired consciousness, acidosis, hypoglycaemia, severe anaemia, renal impairment, jaundice, pulmonary oedema, bleeding, circulatory shock and hyperparasitemia (Management of Severe Malaria: A Practical Handbook, 3rd edn, 1–83, World Health Organization, 2012)