Methaemoglobin profile in malaria infected children in Calabar.

BACKGROUND: Malaria infection interferes with haemoglobin by disruption of red blood cells and by conversion of haemoglobin to methaemoglobin. This study was to determine the relationship between malaria and the concentration of methaemoglobin using malaria patients.
METHODS: Severe malaria-infected children of ages 11 months to 15 years recruited from the children emergency room of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) were used for the study while 62 age--sex matched apparently healthy school children and children that visited the child welfare clinic of UCTH were screened and used as controls. Malaria detection and identifications using WHO procedure were employed. Methaemoglobin (Met Hb) levels were determined using the method of Evelyn and Malloy.
RESULTS: The mean MetHb value for malaria-infected children was higher (3.2 +/- 0.8%) than that of the non- malaria infected subjects (1.5 +/- 0.5%). The difference was significant (p < 0.001). Patients with severe malaria parasitaemia had markedly raised MetHb values of 4.0 +/- 0.9% as compared to the values for mild/moderate infected cases (2.9 +/- 0.6%). The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: This study has demonstrated high level of MetHb value in subjects with severe malaria parasitaemia. It's role in the symptomatology and complications of malaria infection, especially in malaria anaemia should be examined in details. Routine estimation of MetHb in malaria patients is suggested.