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*DICHLOROACETIC ACID
*LACTIC ACID
*QUININE
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 85, No. 4 1569-1576
Copyright © 2000 by The Endocrine Society


Original Studies

Glucose and Lactate Kinetics in Children with Severe Malaria1

Tsiri Agbenyega, Brian J. Angus, George Bedu-Addo, Benjamin Baffoe-Bonnie, Tom Guyton, Peter W. Stacpoole and Sanjeev Krishna2

Department of Physiology, University of Science and Technology, School of Medical Sciences (T.A.), and Departments of Child Health and Medicine, Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital (T.A., G.B-A., B.B.-B., S.K.), Kumasi, Ghana; Department of Infectious Diseases, St. George’s Hospital Medical School (B.J.A., S.K.), SW17 ORE London, United Kingdom; Wellcome-Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Program, Mahidol University (B.J.A.), Bangkok 10400, Thailand; and Departments of Anesthesiology (T.G.) and Medicine, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology (P.W.S.), University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0226

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Sanjeev Krishna, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. George’s Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, SW17 ORE London, United Kingdom. E-mail: s.krishna{at}sghms.ac.uk


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Children with severe malaria often present with lactic acidosis and hypoglycemia. Although both complications independently predict mortality, mechanisms underlying their development are poorly understood. To study these metabolic derangements we sequentially allocated 21 children with falciparum malaria and capillary lactate concentrations of 5 mmol/L or more to receive either quinine or artesunate as antimalarial therapy, and dichloroacetate or saline placebo for lactic acidosis. We then administered a primed infusion (90 min) of L-[3-13C1]sodium lactate and D-[6,6-D2]glucose to determine the kinetics of these substrates. The mean (SD) glucose disposal rate in all patients was 56 (16) µmol/kg·min, and the geometric mean (range) lactate disposal rate was 100 (66–177) µmol/kg·min. Glucose and lactate disposal rates were positively correlated (r = 0.62; P = 0.005). Artesunate was associated with faster parasite clearance, lower insulin/glucose ratios, and higher glucose disposal rates than quinine. Lactate disposal was positively correlated with plasma lactate concentrations (r = 0.66; P = 0.002) and time to recovery from coma (r = 0.82; P < 0.001; n = 15). Basal lactate disposal rates increased with dichloroacetate treatment. Elevated glucose turnover in severe malaria mainly results from enhanced anaerobic glycolysis. Quinine differs from artesunate in its effects on glucose kinetics. Increased lactate production is the most important determinant of lactic acidosis.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
MALARIA KILLS approximately 2 million African children a year. Many of these children die with metabolic complications of infection. Lactic acidosis complicates 35% of severe childhood malaria (1), and hypoglycemia is present in 20% of children with cerebral malaria (2). Both metabolic derangements commonly coexist, and each independently defines severe disease and predicts fatality in children (1, 2, 3, 4) and adults (5, 6, 7).

The causes of hypoglycemia in African children with malaria are incompletely understood. Hyperinsulinemia rarely accompanies hypoglycemia in children presenting to hospitals with severe malaria (5, 6, 8), although hyperinsulinemia can complicate the treatment of children who receive quinine (9, 10). The kinetics of glucose have not been investigated in these populations despite the high risk of hypoglycemia, and the metabolic consequences of quinine have not been defined. Although quinine is the preferred treatment for severe malaria in most geographic areas, artemisinin derivatives, such as artesunate, are an increasingly valuable therapeutic option (10, 11). Artesunate is currently being investigated as an alternative to quinine in the management of African children with severe malaria, particularly when it is given by the intrarectal route in primary health care settings. However, artesunate’s effects on intermediary metabolism and insulin dynamics in children with severe malaria have not been investigated.

Sustained lactic acidosis may be the only clinically attributable cause of death in some children (1), but its causes and management are not established. Dichloroacetate (DCA) improves lactic acidosis in children with severe malaria (12) and increases survival in a rodent model of lactic acidosis caused by Plasmodium berghei infection (13). However, the mechanism of action of DCA has not been studied in children with severe malaria.

We used stable isotopes to examine the kinetics of glucose and lactate in African children with malaria-associated lactic acidosis and examined the effects of drugs used in the management of severe malaria. Children received quinine or artesunate as antimalarial therapy, and either DCA or placebo for hyperlactatemia. We hypothesized that quinine would have important effects on glucose metabolism, and that DCA would influence lactate kinetics.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
The committee of research, publication, and ethics of the School of Medical Sciences, University of Science and Technology (Kumasi, Ghana), and the institutional review board of the University of Florida approved this study. Informed consent was obtained from relatives of enrolled patients. This was a parallel, open label comparison of quinine vs. artesunate as antimalarial treatment, and DCA vs. saline placebo given as an adjunctive treatment to children aged 11 months to 10 yr who had severe malaria. Twenty-one children were allocated in strict sequence to one of four treatment categories: quinine and saline placebo (n = 6), quinine and DCA (n = 5), artesunate and placebo (n = 5), or artesunate and DCA (n = 5) if they had severe falciparum malaria [defined as asexual parasitemia in a patient who had strictly defined cerebral malaria or who looked severely ill, was unable to sit unaided, and required parenteral treatment (14)] and a capillary blood lactate concentration equal to or greater than 5 mmol/L at the time of screening (12). To exclude confounding causes of other illnesses, a blood culture was obtained in all subjects, and a lumbar puncture was performed in comatose patients.

Management

Patients who were referred for study were admitted to the Department of Child Health at Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital (Kumasi, Ghana) in October-November 1995 with the suspected diagnosis of severe malaria. The diagnosis of malaria was confirmed by examination of a blood film. Hypoglycemia (glucose, <=2.2 mmol/L) was excluded by capillary glucose measurement (BM stix; Roche Diagnostics Ltd., E. Sussex, UK) at the time of screening, but all glucose estimations were confirmed as described below. Two iv cannulas were inserted. One peripheral line was to administer iv fluids and either DCA or placebo, and a second central line (5Fr 2 lumen or 5.5Fr multilumen catheter, Arrow-Howest, Kimal Scientific, Uxbridge, UK) was used to administer 50% glucose to treat hypoglycemia, to monitor circulating intravascular volume, and to administer fluids and obtain samples for analyses.

Antimalarial treatment

Antimalarial treatment was begun immediately (15) after venous blood was obtained to measure glucose, lactate, and hematocrit. On the basis of historical evidence, previously untreated patients were randomized to receive quinine (n = 9); 20 mg salt/kg quinine dihydrochloride (BP1980, Martindale Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Romford, UK) were injected im, half into each thigh after dilution 1:1 (vol/vol) with water or normal saline (12). Patients pretreated with quinine (n = 2) received a maintenance dose (10 mg salt/kg diluted as before) thereafter. Subsequent injections of quinine (10 mg salt/kg, diluted) were repeated every 12 h in alternate thighs from the commencement of the first dose until the patient recovered sufficiently to tolerate oral quinine (quinine sulfate suspension, 50 mg/5 mL; Edikay Pharmacy Ltd., Kumasi, Ghana), which was administered as a 10 mg/kg dose every 8 h for a total of 7 days.

Patients who were randomized to receive artesunate (Guilin No. 2 Pharmaceutical Factory, Guangxi, China) were given an im injection of 2.4 mg/kg (60 mg/mL) that was made up immediately before use in a 5% sodium bicarbonate solution supplied with the drug. This dose was followed by im injections of 1.2 mg/kg artesunate 12 and 24 h after admission and subsequently 1.2 mg/kg daily for a total of 7 days (total dose of artesunate, 10.8 mg/kg). Treatment was changed to oral artesunate (nearest one quarter tablet equivalent; 50 mg/tablet) as soon as patients could swallow oral medication.

Supportive treatment

To minimize the risk of hypoglycemia, all subjects received an infusion of 5% glucose in water, using a syringe pump (Graseby 3200, Graseby Medical Ltd., Herts, Watford, UK), at a rate of 1 mg/kg·min for the duration of the stable isotope study. All patients received a single dose of iv thiamine (100 mg; Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, UK) to correct possible subclinical thiamine deficiency (16). Patients who were comatose or who had seizures received a single im dose of phenobarbitone (7 mg/kg; Biomedicine SPRI, Brussels, Belgium) at the start of the study. Seizures after admission were treated with iv diazepam (0.3 mg/kg; Diazemuls, Dumex Ltd., Princes Risborough, UK), high temperatures (>=38.5° C) were treated with rectal paracetamol (120 mg paracetamol suppositories, WHA, South West Thames Pharmacy Services Production Unit, St. George’s Hospital, London, UK), and severe anemia (hematocrit, <=15%) was treated with transfusions of packed cells screened for human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus. Furosemide (1 mg/kg; Antigen Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Rosivia, Ireland) was also administered during each transfusion. Patients with secondary bacterial infections received gentamicin (20 mg/2 mL; Roussel 2 Labs Ltd., Uxbridge, UK) and ampicillin (Berk Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Eastbourne, UK). Intravascular volume depletion was monitored measuring central venous pressure and was corrected with iv saline infusions.

Infusion of L-[3-13C1]lactate and D-[6,6-D2]glucose, sampling for stable isotopes, and DCA treatment

Stable isotope solutions were formulated in sterile water (15 mL) by mixing L-[3-13C1]sodium lactate and D-[6,6-D2]glucose to final concentrations of 2.22% and 2.78%, respectively (i.e. 0.333 g sodium lactate and 0.417 g glucose/bottle). Patients were resuscitated and stabilized, and antimalarial and supportive therapies were begun as described above. Baseline venous blood samples were then obtained to determine the natural abundance of stable isotopes and to quantitate glucose, lactate, and insulin concentrations (-10 min, -5 min, and just before DCA or placebo infusion was begun). Sodium dichloroacetate [Tokyo Kasei Kyogo Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; formulated as described previously (17)] was then administered (50 mg/kg) by iv infusion over 10 min. Normal saline instead of DCA was administered to subjects who were randomized to receive placebo.

An iv priming bolus of 0.135 mL/kg stable isotope was injected after the DCA/placebo infusion had stopped, and an infusion of 0.404 mL/kg·h isotope solution was administered by syringe pump immediately after the loading dose of isotope was given. This infusion was continued for 90 min (13.48 mg/kg lactate and 16.8885 mg/kg glucose were infused for the duration of the study). Sixty minutes after the end of the DCA infusion, four samples (2 mL each) were taken at 10-min intervals (i.e. 60, 70, 80, and 90 min after isotope infusion had begun) to measure glucose, lactate, and insulin concentrations, and an aliquot of each sample at the last three time points was used to determine enrichment with stable isotopes.

The study protocol is illustrated in Fig. 1Go.



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Figure 1. Insulin/glucose ratios in patients receiving artesunate or quinine. The study protocol and sampling schedule are shown on the graph. The mean (±SEM) insulin/glucose ratios are given for patient who received artesunate (open circles) or quinine (filled squares) during the course of the study.

 
Assay for antimalarials

Previous treatment with antimalarials was determined in pretreatment plasma samples by dipstick enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays that detect the presence of chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine, and pyrimethamine (18).

Monitoring and sampling

Vital signs (respiratory rate, pulse, and blood pressure) and coma score [Blantyre scale (19)] were monitored every 5 min during the DCA infusion, then at 15, 30, 60, 70, 80, and 90 min during stable isotope infusion, then every 6 h until patients recovered. Other clinical measures, such as time to sit and time to drink, were also noted as end points. Temperature was monitored at 30 and 60 min, then with the other vital signs. Hematocrit and parasitemia were quantified every 6 h until parasites were undetectable by blood smear examination.

Whole blood (400 µL) was collected in chilled, heparinized (20 IU) microcentrifuge tubes each time vital signs were obtained and was transported on ice and centrifuged to isolate plasma. Venous glucose and lactate (50 µL whole blood) were measured immediately after sample collection, using YSI, Inc., 2300 glucose and lactate analyzers (YSI, Inc., Youngtown, OH). For consistency, aliquots of plasma samples collected for isotope analysis were reassayed on a YSI, Inc., 2300 STAT combined glucose/lactate analyzer. These data were used for analyses of glucose and lactate kinetics. Plasma (600 µL) was stored at -20 C and transported on dry ice for stable isotope measurements.

Analysis of stable isotopes

To determinate lactate enrichment of blood, plasma (100 µL) was made acidic by adding 50 µL 0.1 mol/L HCl. The mixture was passed through a Dowex AG-50 x 8 exchange column (Sigma, St. Louis, MO), washed with 0.5 mL distilled water, and collected in a siliconized test tube. The solution was reduced under vacuum until almost dry, and drying was completed under nitrogen. After preparing the t-butyl- demethylsilyl derivative (20), the lactate enrichment was determined using a Hewlett-Packard Co. 5790 gas chromatograph/5790 MSD (Palo Alto, CA) fitted with a 30 mm x 0.25 mm x 0.25 id x 0.25 µm SPB fused silica capillary column (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA). The derivatized lactate had a molecular mass of 318 amu. The electron impact spectrum at 70 eV had a mass spectrum with a weak M-15 peak at 303 amu (without a methyl group) and a strong M-57 peak at 261 (without a t-butyl group). Using selective ion monitoring, we monitored ion channels 261 and 262 for lactate enrichment. Each sample was analyzed in triplicate. The coefficient of variation was less than 1.5%.

To determine glucose enrichment, 50 µL plasma samples were made acidic by adding 25 µL 0.1 mol/L HCl. The mixture was passed through a Dowex AG-50 x 8 column, washed with distilled water, collected, and dried completely under vacuum. The pentaacetate derivative of glucose was prepared by mixing acetic anhydride (200 µL) and pyridine (200 µL) and incubating at room temperature overnight. The derivatized glucose was analyzed using the same gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer as that used for lactate, under electron impact conditions. The derivatized glucose produced two peaks in the mass spectrometry analysis: {alpha}- and ß-D-glucopyranose pentaacetate. The spectrum of each compound had a fragment of mass 242 amu due to the loss of C-1 carbon of glucose (21). Using selective ion monitoring of the {alpha}-D-glucopyranose pentaacetate, three ion channels, 242, 243, and 244, were monitored for glucose enrichment. Each sample was analyzed in triplicate. The coefficient of variation was less than 3%. The results were confirmed by also monitoring ß-D-glucopyranose pentaacetate.

Calculations

The lactate mole percent excess (MPE) was calculated using the 262/261 ratio for samples obtained after 60 min of infusion (Rs) and at time zero (Ro), as shown in the following equation: MPE = (Rs - Ro)/[1 + (Rs - Ro)].

For D-[6,6-D2]glucose, the 244/242 tracer ratio was corrected for the contribution of singly enriched molecules, as suggested by Rosenblatt and Wolfe (22). Lactate and glucose disposal rates were calculated by a formula (23) that corrects for the change in pool size from the exogenous lactate or glucose, 13C natural abundance, and the enrichment of infusate. The rate of glucose production was obtained by assuming that in fasted children, such as those with severe malaria, the rate of appearance of glucose from glycogenolysis was negligible (8). Hence, glucose production becomes the glucose disposal rate minus the rate of exogenous glucose administration.

Data analysis

SYSTAT (version 5.2, Systat, Evanston, IL) and Stata (version 5, Stata Corporation, College Station, TX) was used for statistical analysis. Normally distributed data (assessed by Schapiro-Wilk W test) were analyzed by Student’s t test or ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Nonnormally distributed data were analyzed by the Wilcoxon rank sum test, and correlations were determined by Spearman’s {rho}. The assumption of steady state was examined by a test for trend. Repeated measures data were analyzed using multiple ANOVA with specified linear general hypotheses. Insulin levels below the level of detection (<10 pmol/L) were coded as 1 pmol/L for purposes of statistical analysis.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Patients

During the study period, 86 consecutive children were referred to the study team, and 54 of these had P. falciparum infection. The majority did not meet 1 of the study’s entry criteria (screening lactate, >=5 mmol/L), leaving 24 with lactate concentrations of 5 mmol/L or more. Twenty-one of these 24 children were subsequently entered into this study. Of the remaining 3, 1 child’s parents refused consent, and 2 children could not be studied because of difficulties with venous access. The clinical and laboratory characteristics of children in different treatment categories were comparable (Table 1Go). For all children, the median (range) duration of fever before admission was 48 (0.5–96) h, the time after food was last taken was 8.5 (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24) h, and the time after the last drink was 6 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) h. Fifteen children (71%) presented with cerebral malaria (unrousable coma for at least 0.5 h after a seizure), 5 children (24%) were hypoglycemic (glucose, <=2.2 mmol/L) on admission, and 5 children (24%) presented with or subsequently developed retinal hemorrhages. All blood cultures and cerebrospinal fluid samples obtained on admission to the study were negative for pathogenic organisms.


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Table 1. Admission clinical and laboratory variables in patients

 
Clinical course

Two patients (1 who received quinine and placebo, and 1 who received artesunate and DCA) died soon after randomization, so 19 patients were included in metabolic studies. Another patient who received artesunate and DCA died 120 h after entry into the study (overall mortality, 14%). Ten patients (48%) required transfusion, 6 patients (29%) had seizures after admission, and 2 boys (10%) developed hemoglobinuria. At the time of admission, 3 patients had chloroquine detectable in plasma samples, but no subject had detectable plasma levels of quinine, mefloquine, or pyrimethamine. Patients received DCA a mean (range) of 35 min (8 min - 75 min) after antimalarial treatment began and after correction of hypoglycemia when appropriate. Table 2Go summarizes the clinical and parasitological measures of recovery for the 2 antimalarial treatments.


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Table 2. Clinical and parasitological measures of recovery after quinine and artesunate

 
Despite the relatively small number of patients in each category, parasite clearance (estimated as time to fall to 50% and 90% of admission values; Table 2Go) was significantly more rapid with artesunate than with quinine. However, more rapid parasite clearance was not reflected in median times to recover from coma, to eat, to sit unaided, to be discharged from hospital or to become afebrile. Parasite clearance times were not related to admission parasitemia, hepatomegaly, hematocrit, or fever.

The admission geometric mean plasma lactate concentration in patients who died was higher than that in patients who survived (12.4 vs. 6.0 mmol/L; P < 0.0001) and was also higher in those who presented with hypoglycemia (geometric mean, 10.7 vs. 5.7 mmol/L; P = 0.013). The parasite clearance time (Table 2Go) and the admission plasma lactate concentration were correlated (r = 0.54; P = 0.017; n = 19), but parasitemia and plasma lactate were not (r = 0.35; P = 0.12). Admission glucose levels were positively correlated with parasitemia (r = 0.501; P = 0.02). There was no relationship between other clinical or parasitological estimates of recovery (Table 2Go) and admission lactate concentrations, and there were no effects of DCA on these variables when DCA was included as a covariate with either antimalarial drug.

Metabolic changes

To establish that kinetic measurements were carried out under steady state conditions, linear regression analysis of data points obtained at sampling times after 60 min was used to estimate slopes for lactate and glucose disposal for each patient. The mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] values of slopes for lactate and glucose disposal were -0.12 (-0.62 to 0.38) and -0.08 (-0.65 to 0.50), respectively, and were not significantly different (P > 0.1) from zero. Admission plasma glucose and lactate levels were not correlated with each other (r = 0.15; P = 0.52), but glucose and lactate disposal rates were positively correlated (r = 0.62; P = 0.005). The mean (SD) Ra for glucose was 56 (17) µmol/kg·min, and the geometric mean (range) Ra for lactate was 100 (66–177) µmol/kg·min.

In all patients, glucose disposal was not related to admission glucose values (r = 0.35; P = 0.15), admission insulin concentrations (r = 0.04; P = 0.86), or age of the patient (r = 0.025; P = 0.92). By contrast, lactate disposal was positively correlated with admission lactate concentrations (r = 0.66; P = 0.002). Lactate disposal was also positively correlated with the time to recovery from coma in patients with cerebral malaria (r = 0.84; P < 0.001; n = 15). There was no relationship between admission parasitemia or temperature and measures of glucose or lactate kinetics (data not shown).

Thirteen patients had sustained hyperlactatemia (lactate concentrations, >=5 mmol/L), both at screening and at the time of admission to the study (6 in the quinine or DCA treatment categories and 7 in the artesunate or placebo categories) and represented children with the most severe metabolic derangement. The following results are therefore presented for 19 patients who were studied and separately for the subgroup of 13 more severely ill patients. Because the subgroup analysis was not specified prospectively, the results are exploratory.

Effects of antimalarials

Glucose. The plasma glucose and lactate concentrations obtained at the time of admission and during kinetic investigations were similar in patients who received quinine and those who received artesunate (Table 3Go). Insulin levels at the start of the kinetic study were slightly higher in quinine-treated compared with artesunate-treated patients (P = 0.14) and were correlated with insulin levels measured after 60 min in the quinine group (r = 0.99; P < 0.001), but not the artesunate group (r = 0.30; P = 0.41). Insulin/glucose ratios were significantly higher in quinine-treated patients than in subjects treated with artesunate during the study (F = 4.45; P = 0.05, by repeated measures analysis; Fig. 1Go).


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Table 3. Metabolic data in patients according to treatment

 
Glucose disposal was significantly lower in quinine-treated patients than in those who received artesunate (Table 3Go; P = 0.04). This difference was more obvious in the subgroup of patients who remained hyperlactatemic from the time of screening to the start of the study. In these individuals the mean ± SD glucose disposal was 49.2 ± 6.6 for subjects treated with quinine and 70 ± 15 µmol/kg·min for subjects administered artesunate (P = 0.011; Fig. 2Go). Glucose production, calculated from glucose disposal, was also significantly lower after treatment with quinine, compared with that after treatment with artesunate (Table 3Go) and accounted for a median (range) of 89.9% (83.7–93.6%) of the Ra values for glucose.



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Figure 2. Glucose disposal after treatment with artesunate and quinine. Glucose disposal rates were determined for patients who were hyperlactatemic (>=5 mmol/L) on admission to the study (filled circles) and for those whose lactate levels had fallen to less than 5 mmol/L from the time of screening to the time of admission to study (open circles).

 
Lactate. There were no differences in lactate disposal between the two antimalarial treatment groups as a whole (Table 3Go) or in the more severely ill patients with sustained acidosis.

Effects of dichloroacetate

Glucose. Glucose disposal was not significantly influenced by DCA, either in the group as a whole or in those patients with sustained hyperlactatemia.

Lactate. The mean (95% CI) change in venous plasma lactate concentrations after DCA was -39% (-55 to -22%) at the end of the study period (90 min) and was -15% (-55 to 50%) after placebo administration (P > 0.1). Lactate disposal was positively correlated with admission lactate levels (r = 0.66; see above) and was not significantly different between patients who received DCA and those who did not (Table 3Go; P = 0.6). However, in the 13 more severely ill patients with sustained hyperlactatemia, there was a highly significant difference in mean (95% CI) lactate disposal between DCA-treated patients [134 (109–160) µmol/kg·min] and placebo-treated patients [97 (80–114) µmol/kg·min; t = -3.2; P < 0.01; Fig. 3Go].



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Figure 3. Lactate disposal after treatment with DCA or placebo. Lactate disposal rates were determined for patients who were hyperlactatemic (>=5 mmol/L) on admission to the study (filled circles) and for those whose lactate levels had fallen to less than 5 mmol/L from the time of screening to the time of admission to study (open circles).

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
To optimize the management of hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis in children with severe malaria and to devise new treatment regimens, it is critical to understand the mechanisms that underlie these complications (2, 24). Studies in southeast Asian adults (24) and in African children with uncomplicated malaria (25, 26, 27) cannot be extrapolated to children with severe disease. Unraveling pathophysiological mechanisms in severely ill children is particularly complicated because both malaria itself and antimalarial drugs, such as quinine, contribute to metabolic derangements.

The Ra for glucose in our patients is approximately 5 times the value estimated in adults with severe malaria treated with quinine (Ra glucose, ~10 µmol/kg·min) (28). Glucose turnover is also much higher in children with severe malaria (Ra in this study, 56 µmol/kg·min) compared to that in children suffering from uncomplicated infections with P. falciparum (Ra glucose, ~26 µmol/kg·min) (27). Normal children have approximately 3-fold higher rates of glucose production (~35 µmol/kg·min) than do adults, and age influences these estimates significantly (29). We were unable to detect any influence of age on our glucose turnover estimates, as in our patients, the range of ages was relatively limited. To assess the metabolic effects of antimalarials, we allocated children to receive quinine or artesunate and evaluated their effects on glucose and lactate metabolism.

Quinine use is associated with higher mean insulin/glucose ratios and lower glucose turnover rates (by ~30%) compared to artesunate. In adults with severe malaria, there is a similar decrease (by ~40%) in glucose turnover after treatment with quinine (28). Although insulin increases glucose utilization by peripheral tissues and decreases gluconeogenesis by the liver, adults with severe malaria demonstrate peripheral resistance to insulin’s action (30). Plasma levels of glucose did not fall to hypoglycemic levels (<=2.2 mmol/L) partly because a constant infusion of glucose supplied approximately 10% of the total glucose requirements in these closely monitored individuals.

Our findings provide the first evidence that there are important differences in the effects of quinine and artesunate on glucose metabolism. Taken together with results from two large prospective studies (7, 10) that found artemether to be associated with fewer episodes of postadmission hypoglycemia compared to quinine, our data indicate that wherever monitoring of plasma glucose is difficult, an artemisinin derivative may offer important advantages over quinine for children who are severely ill with malaria. This may be particularly important when glucose supplementation is not reliably achievable in practice.

The fact that glucose and lactate kinetics are positively correlated in our subjects suggests that glucose is consumed predominantly through anaerobic pathways. This interpretation is consistent with our current understanding of the pathophysiology of lactic acidosis in severe malaria (2) and with the positive correlation we observed between Ra for lactate and plasma lactate concentrations. These results also suggest that increased production of lactate (rather than decreased disposal) is the most important determinant of hyperlactatemia in severe malaria in African children.

Increased anaerobic glycolysis in severe malaria may be due to tissue hypoxia, severe anemia, enhanced skeletal muscle activity during seizures, the metabolic demands of parasitized erythrocytes, inhibition of mitochondrial glucose oxidation by host cells due to thiamine deficiency (17), fever and associated increased cytokine production (1), and diminished clearance of lactate by the liver due to decreased hepatic blood flow (31, 32).

The positive correlation between duration of coma and the lactate disposal rates is consistent with the hypothesis that microvascular obstruction, due to sequestration of infected erythrocytes, is an underlying mechanism that is common to the development of both cerebral malaria and lactic acidosis.

Overall, there was an elevated turnover of lactate in our study group compared with similar measurements in other patient populations (e.g. 36 µmol/kg·min in healthy adults) (33). Values for lactate kinetics in our children were comparable to those obtained in nonacidotic adults with severe malaria who were treated with quinine (85 µmol/kg·min) (34).

DCA rapidly lowers plasma lactate concentrations in both adults and children with severe malaria (6, 12, 35). DCA treatment in patients who had sustained hyperlactatemia was also associated with a higher Ra for lactate. This suggests that basal lactate disposal is still capable of being augmented in these patients.

DCA stimulates pyruvate dehydrogenase and thus accelerates the oxidative removal of glucose, pyruvate, and lactate (36). It improved survival in an animal model of lactic acidosis due to malaria when it was administered together with quinine (13). DCA did not affect glucose concentrations or kinetics in our patients. This suggests that it is unlikely to cause hypoglycemia in children with severe malaria who receive glucose supplementation. These effects together with DCA’s stability and ease of use make it a potentially important intervention to improve mortality in patients with severe malaria complicated by lactic acidosis.


    Acknowledgments
 
We are grateful to Prof. N. J. White and YSI, Inc. Instruments for the loan of glucose and lactate analyzers, to Dr. Theunis Eggelte for supplying dipsticks for the drug assay, and to Prof. G. Griffin for support. We thank Prof. G. Brobby (Dean, University of Science and Technology) and Prof. Asafo-Agyei (Administrator, Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital), Drs. John Adebe-Appiah and Alex K. Owusu-Ofori, the pediatric medical and nursing staff (especially Sister E. Assuming) at Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital for their help, Prof. S. O’Rahilly for insulin assays, Khun Kamalrot Silamut for technical assistance, and Dr. Alan Hutson for statistical advice. Profs. J. Gerich and J. Leonard gave invaluable comments on the manuscript.


    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust through a Program for Research in Tropical Medicine based at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, and by General Clinical Research Center Grant RR-00082 to the University of Florida from the NIH. Back

2 Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science. Back

Received August 31, 1999.

Revised December 15, 1999.

Accepted December 29, 1999.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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