Goduguchintha Lepakshi1, Nagatham Padmaja2, Moode Sandeep3
BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Malaria remains one of the major health problems in the tropics with increased morbidity & mortality. Although Plasmodium falciparum has been commonly implicated as the cause of complicated malaria but now the trend is changing and vivax is increasingly presenting with severe complications. Hence this study was undertaken to study the clinical profile of patients admitted with Plasmodium vivax mono-infection.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 50 patients presenting with fever in whom the peripheral smear and/or quantitative buffy coat was positive for Plasmodium vivax malaria were enrolled for this study. Their clinical features, complications and outcome were studied, analyzed and reported.
RESULTS: The most common symptom was found to be fever in all the patients followed by headache, jaundice, and vomiting and pain abdomen. The important signs were splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, pallor and icterus. Complications like hepatic dysfunction, multiorgan failure, cerebral malaria, bleeding manifestations, acute kidney injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome were found in significant number of patients.
CONCLUSION: Severe complications which were earlier known to occur with falciparum malaria are also observed with Plasmodium vivax infection. Early diagnosis, recognition of complications and prompt initiation of treatment is the corner stone in the management of Plasmodium vivax in reducing the morbidity and mortality.
