A clinical evaluation of administration of artesunate in treatment of cerebral malaria in 65 cases

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of Artesunate in cerebral malaria treatment. Methods Artesunate and quinine were administrated in two groups of patient with cerebral malaria.The effect was evaluated after 5 days of administration. Results Artesunate was effective in 64 of 65 (98.5%) cases while the effective rate is 73.0% in control group, in which quinine was administrated.The difference is significant.The disappearance rate of plasmodium is much higher in Artesunate group( P 0.01).Besides, the side effect of drug is much lower and the improvement of clinical symptoms is much better in Artesunate group than that in control gro. Conclusion Artesunate works better,faster, and has less side effect than quinine in treatment of cerebral malaria.It can be the first choice in such case. [