[Treatment of severe and uncomplicated falciparum malaria in children in France]

Abstract

Quinine was the main treatment for malaria between 1630 and the beginning of the XXth century. In the 1940s, the synthesis of chloroquine gave rise to the hope of eliminating this plague. Falciparum resistance to chloroquine, first observed in Asia then in sub-Saharan Africa, lead researchers to discover halofantrine, mefloquine, atovaquone-proguanil and artemisinin combined therapies. There is no ideal treatment for uncomplicated imported malaria in children. Medical teams have to develop a protocol according to available drugs and their personal experience, with a special attention to follow-up at days 3-4 and day 28. From now on, severe malaria must be treated with intravenous artesunate, a more effective therapy than quinine.