QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
A pilot study of N-acetylcysteine as adjunctive therapy for severe malaria.
The case fatality rate of severe malaria remains unacceptably high. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a safe compound that inhibits tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and impedes cytoadherence, both of which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of malaria complications. ⋯ NAC's mechanism of action in malaria is unclear, since it did not markedly alter plasma cytokine profiles. Trials of NAC adjunctive therapy for complicated malaria, with mortality as an endpoint, appear to be warranted.