SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2012
Antipyretic measures for treating fever in malaria.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Population Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Paracetamol in Malaysian Patients With Plasmodium knowlesi Malaria.CPT: pharmacometrics & systems pharmacology · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Malaria and Pain: A Mini-Review.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Review
- Article
- Febrile Temperature Elevates the Expression of Phosphatidylserine on Plasmodium falciparum (FCR3CSA) Infected Red Blood Cell Surface Leading to Increased Cytoadhesion.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Why Do We Feel Sick When Infected--Can Altruism Play a Role?PLoS biology · 2015Article
- New insights into the protective power of platelets in malaria infection.Communicative & integrative biology · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFever is common in malaria, and drugs and sponging are widely used for symptomatic relief. Some researchers have suggested that fever reduction may prolong malaria illness.
objectivesWe aimed to assess whether treatments to reduce fever in malaria influence the course of the illness. SEARCH
methodsWe searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Trial Register (June 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 6, 2012), MEDLINE (1966 to June 2012); EMBASE (1980 to June 2012) and LILACS (June 2012). We contacted researchers and organisations working in the field to enable us identify other unpublished or ongoing trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials of fever reduction measures in adults or children with confirmed malaria. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Inclusion criteria were independently applied by two authors. We extracted data from trials that met our pre-specified criteria using a standard data extraction form. Mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for continuous data. GRADE was used to evaluate and summarize the quality of the evidence. MAIN
resultsTen randomized controlled trials with 990 participants including both adults and children met our inclusion criteria. All were small scale trials with methodological limitations and were conducted in a variety of patients. Some trials detected an impact of antipyretic drugs on fever clearance time, while others did not. Regarding parasite clearance,no clear influence of anti-pyresis was demonstrated (six trials, 423 participants, very low quality of evidence). No difference in the number or severity of adverse events between antipyretic drugs and control was detected. AUTHORS'
conclusionsWe do not know whether antipyretics alter parasite clearance time. Whether further trials are worthwhile to investigate this or not would require a judgement of whether this was an important question to resolve using interventional trials.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.