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Table 1 Treatment failure definitions [17]

From: Comparison of azithromycin plus chloroquine versus artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children in Africa: a randomized, open-label study

Early treatment failure (ETF)

Signs of severe malaria/clinical deterioration requiring rescue medication on Days 0, 1, 2 or 3, in the presence of P. falciparum parasitaemia*

Last available asexual P. falciparum parasite count on Day 2 greater than the first available parasite count at baseline irrespective of axillary, oral, or rectal temperature

Parasitaemia (P. falciparum) on Day 3 with fever

Last available P. falciparum parasite count on Day 3 ≥ 25% of the first available parasite count at baseline

Late treatment failure

Late clinical failure (LCF)

Signs of severe malaria/ clinical deterioration requiring rescue medication after Day 3 in the presence of P. falciparum parasitaemia, without previously meeting any of the criteria of ETF

Presence of P. falciparum parasitaemia and fever on any day from Day 4 onward, without previously meeting any of the criteria of ETF

Late parasitologic failure

Presence of P. falciparum parasitaemia on any day from Day 7 onward and the absence of fever without previously meeting any of the criteria of ETF or LCF

  1. *For treatment failure, any subject with a missing blood smear was assumed to have parasitaemia.
  2. Fever was defined as ≥38.0°C (rectal), ≥37.2°C (axillary), or ≥37.5°C (oral).