The treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria is too often based on empirical notions of the efficacy and toxicity of drugs. Understanding the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships and antimalarial drugs' modes of action allows one to better understand the therapeutic responses observed in the treatment of severe or uncomplicated P. falciparum infections. The authors discuss the variations of parasitemia and their influencing factors (prevention, synchronism, virulence, and pretreat...