You are working in an African hospital during the malaria season. A 10 year old boy is admitted in coma with a fever after having had a convulsion at home.

A blood slide shows asexual forms of Plasmodium falciparum, his blood sugar has been checked to be normal, and he has been loaded with intravenous quinine. Antibiotics have been given until meningitis can be excluded by a normal lumber puncture. Local experience suggests intravenous mannitol is of benefit in unconscious patients with cerebral malaria; its use …