INTRODUCTION: To study the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of malaria and the diagnosis of this condition in a general hospital that does not have a specialized tropical medicine unit. METHODS: Retrospective study of all malaria cases diagnosed by thick film and/or PCR-positive status for any Plasmodium spp. from 1999 to 2003 in Hospital Príncipe de Asturias in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain). RESULTS: Over the period studied, 89 cases of malaria were diagnosed. Most patients were African immigrants who had recently left their countries of origin (52%), or immigrants residing in Spain who had traveled to Africa for a short visit (35%) and did not take prophylaxis. The distribution of cases by species was Plasmodium falciparum 89%, P. ovale 7% and P. malariae 4%. Clinical data were non-specific and the percentage of severe complications was low (6.7%). A second-generation test for rapid detection of P. falciparum antigen (PfHRP2) was studied in a group of 46 patients with suspected malaria; the results obtained were similar to thick film as compared to PCR for diagnosing P. falciparum infection. CONCLUSIONS: Access to information on prevention and chemoprophylaxis should be available to all travelers, particularly immigrants visiting their countries of origin. Most semi-immune patients with uncomplicated malaria can be treated on an outpatient basis. PfHRP2 antigen detection, a fast, reliable method for diagnosing malaria due to P. falciparum, can be used in addition to the thick film method in our setting.
INTRODUCTION: To study the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of malaria and the diagnosis of this condition in a general hospital that does not have a specialized tropical medicine unit. METHODS: Retrospective study of all malaria cases diagnosed by thick film and/or PCR-positive status for any Plasmodium spp. from 1999 to 2003 in Hospital Príncipe de Asturias in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain). RESULTS: Over the period studied, 89 cases of malaria were diagnosed. Most patients were African immigrants who had recently left their countries of origin (52%), or immigrants residing in Spain who had traveled to Africa for a short visit (35%) and did not take prophylaxis. The distribution of cases by species was Plasmodium falciparum 89%, P. ovale 7% and P. malariae 4%. Clinical data were non-specific and the percentage of severe complications was low (6.7%). A second-generation test for rapid detection of P. falciparum antigen (PfHRP2) was studied in a group of 46 patients with suspected malaria; the results obtained were similar to thick film as compared to PCR for diagnosing P. falciparum infection. CONCLUSIONS: Access to information on prevention and chemoprophylaxis should be available to all travelers, particularly immigrants visiting their countries of origin. Most semi-immune patients with uncomplicated malaria can be treated on an outpatient basis. PfHRP2 antigen detection, a fast, reliable method for diagnosing malaria due to P. falciparum, can be used in addition to the thick film method in our setting.
Authors: Beatriz C Jiménez; Pedro Cuadros-Tito; Jose M Ruiz-Giardin; Gerardo Rojo-Marcos; Juan Cuadros-González; Eduardo Canalejo; Noemi Cabello; Juan V San Martín; Ana M Barrios; Juan Hinojosa; Laura Molina Journal: Malar J Date: 2012-04-11 Impact factor: 2.979
Authors: Juan Pablo Millet; Patricia Garcia de Olalla; Paloma Carrillo-Santisteve; Joaquim Gascón; Begoña Treviño; José Muñoz; Jordi Gómez I Prat; Juan Cabezos; Anna González Cordón; Joan A Caylà Journal: Malar J Date: 2008-04-08 Impact factor: 2.979
Authors: Gerardo Rojo-Marcos; José Miguel Rubio-Muñoz; Germán Ramírez-Olivencia; Silvia García-Bujalance; Rosa Elcuaz-Romano; Marta Díaz-Menéndez; María Calderón; Isabel García-Bermejo; José Manuel Ruiz-Giardín; Francisco Jesús Merino-Fernández; Diego Torrús-Tendero; Alberto Delgado-Iribarren; Mónica Ribell-Bachs; Juan Arévalo-Serrano; Juan Cuadros-González Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2014-03 Impact factor: 6.883