Malaria deaths as sentinel events to monitor healthcare delivery and antimalarial drug safety.

Objectives: To identify case management, health system and antimalarial drug factors contributing to malaria deaths.

Method: We investigated malaria-related deaths in South Africa's three malaria endemic provinces from January 2002 to July 2004. Data from healthcare facility records and a semi-structured interview with patients' contacts were reviewed by an expert panel, which sought to reach consensus on factors contributing to the death.