The mean ( SD ) of the fever clearance ( 10.8 [ 5.5 ] vs. 14.0 [ 8.1 ] hours , p = 0.028 ) and the parasite clearance time ( 16.5 [ 6.4 ] vs. 21.7 [ 11.3 ] hours , p = 0.007 ) were significantly shorter in the artesunate-treated patients .