The impact of delayed treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria on progression to severe malaria: A systematic review and a pooled multicentre individual-patient meta-analysis.
Andria MousaAbdullah Al-TaiarNicholas M AnsteyCyril BadautBridget E BarberSozinho AcácioJoseph D ChallengerAubrey J CunningtonDibyadyuti DattaChris J DrakeleyAzra C GhaniVictor R GordeukMatthew J GriggPierre HugoChandy C JohnAlfredo Gabriel Mayor AparicioFlorence Migot-NabiasRobert O OpokaGeoffrey PasvolClaire Patricia ReesHugh ReyburnEleanor M RileyBinal N ShahAntonio SitoeColin J SutherlandPhilip E ThumaStefan A UngerFirmine ViwamiMichael WaltherChristopher J M WhittyTimothy WilliamLucy C OkellPublished in: PLoS medicine (2020)
Our results quantify the relationship between rapid access to treatment and reduced risk of severe disease, which was particularly strong for SMA. There was some evidence to suggest that progression to other severe phenotypes may also be prevented by prompt treatment, though the association was not as strong, which may be explained by potential selection bias, sample size issues, or a difference in underlying pathology. These findings may help assess the impact of interventions that improve access to treatment.