View clinical trials related to Cerebral Malaria.
Filter by:Pediatric cerebral malaria (CM) affects more than 3 million children each year killing ~20% and leaving one third of survivors with long term neurologic and psychiatric sequelae. Seizures occur commonly with CM and are associated with an increased risk of death and neuropsychiatric disabilities. In this Malawi-based, dose- escalation, safety and feasibility study of enteral levetiracetam in pediatric CM, the investigators will lay the groundwork for future efficacy studies aimed at improving seizure control and ultimately decreasing the neurologic morbidity of pediatric CM.
Pediatric cerebral malaria (CM) affects more than 3 million children each year killing ~20% and leaving one third of survivors with long term neurologic and psychiatric sequelae. Seizures occur commonly with CM and are associated with an increased risk of death and neuropsychiatric disabilities. In this Malawi-based, dose- escalation, safety and feasibility study of enteral levetiracetam in pediatric CM, the investigators will lay the groundwork for future efficacy studies aimed at improving seizure control and ultimately decreasing the neurologic morbidity of pediatric CM.
The impact of neurological disorders is enormous worldwide, and it is increased in poor settings, due to lack of diagnosis and treatment facilities as well as delayed management. In sub-Saharan Africa, the few observational studies conducted for the past 20 years show that neurological disorders accounted for 7 to 24% of all admissions. Central nervous system (CNS) infections were suspected in one third of all patients admitted with neurological symptoms, with a specific microbial aetiology identified in half of these. Most CNS infections may be considered as "severe and treatable diseases", e.g. human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), cerebral malaria, bacterial meningitis, CNS tuberculosis etc. If left untreated, death or serious sequels occur (mortality rates were as high as 30% in the above mentioned studies), but the outcome may be favourable with timely and appropriate management. In poor settings, such conditions should be targeted in priority in the clinical decision-making process. Unfortunately, most neuro-infections present with non-specific symptoms in their early stages, leading to important diagnostic delays. Moreover, they require advanced diagnostic technology, which is not available in most tropical rural settings: here, you have to rely on clinical judgment and first-line laboratory results, whose confirming or excluding powers are limited or unknown. Several rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been recently developed for conditions like malaria or HIV, but their diagnostic contribution has not been evaluated within a multi-disease approach. Thus, this research aims at improving the early diagnosis of severe and treatable neglected and non-neglected infectious diseases which present with neurological symptoms in the province of Bandundu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), by combining classic clinical predictors with a panel of simple point-of-care rapid diagnostic tests. The evaluation of existing algorithms and elaboration/validation of new guidelines will be described in a subsequent protocol.