TY - JOUR AU - Zoller, Thomas AU - Junghanss, Thomas AU - Kapaun, Annette AU - Gjørup, Ida AU - Richter, Joachim AU - Hugo-Persson, Mats AU - Mørch, Kristine AU - Foroutan, Behruz AU - Suttorp, Norbert AU - Yürek, Salih AU - Flick, Holger T1 - Intravenous Artesunate for Severe Malaria in Travelers, Europe T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2011 VL - 17 IS - 5 SP - 771 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Multicenter trials in Southeast Asia have shown better survival rates among patients with severe malaria, particularly those with high parasitemia levels, treated with intravenous (IV) artesunate than among those treated with quinine. In Europe, quinine is still the primary treatment for severe malaria. We conducted a retrospective analysis for 25 travelers with severe malaria who returned from malaria-endemic regions and were treated at 7 centers in Europe. All patients survived. Treatment with IV artesunate rapidly reduced parasitemia levels. In 6 patients at 5 treatment centers, a self-limiting episode of unexplained hemolysis occurred after reduction of parasitemia levels. Five patients required a blood transfusion. Patients with posttreatment hemolysis had received higher doses of IV artesunate than patients without hemolysis. IV artesunate was an effective alternative to quinine for treatment of malaria patients in Europe. Patients should be monitored for signs of hemolysis, especially after parasitologic cure. KW - artesunate KW - Plasmodium falciparum KW - parasites KW - malaria KW - hemolysis KW - critical care KW - travelers KW - Europe KW - synopsis DO - 10.3201/eid1705.101229 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/5/10-1229_article ER - End of Reference