INTRODUCTION: While hyperparasitemia is considered an important indicator for the development of severe malaria, there is currently no consensus on the quantitative definition of hyperparasitemia. This study was conducted to establish a cutoff point for peripheral parasitemia among patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria, to define severe malaria. METHODS: The clinical presentations of 200 uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, and 189 severe P. falciparum malaria, patients, admitted to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, were analyzed. RESULTS: A peripheral parasitemia of 0.5% was found to be the optimal cutoff point for defining severe malaria, demonstrating highest sensitivity (85.1%), specificity (62.0%), and accuracy (73.2%). CONCLUSION: Symptoms of severe falciparum malaria depend on many factors. For the definition of hyperparasitemia in areas of low or seasonal transmission, peripheral parasitemia of 0.5% might be considered a cutoff point for discrimination between severity levels. This value might be useful for the clinical management of malaria, particularly in hypo-endemic areas, unstable transmission areas, and other areas with similar transmission patterns.
INTRODUCTION: While hyperparasitemia is considered an important indicator for the development of severe malaria, there is currently no consensus on the quantitative definition of hyperparasitemia. This study was conducted to establish a cutoff point for peripheral parasitemia among patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria, to define severe malaria. METHODS: The clinical presentations of 200 uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, and 189 severe P. falciparum malaria, patients, admitted to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, were analyzed. RESULTS: A peripheral parasitemia of 0.5% was found to be the optimal cutoff point for defining severe malaria, demonstrating highest sensitivity (85.1%), specificity (62.0%), and accuracy (73.2%). CONCLUSION: Symptoms of severe falciparum malaria depend on many factors. For the definition of hyperparasitemia in areas of low or seasonal transmission, peripheral parasitemia of 0.5% might be considered a cutoff point for discrimination between severity levels. This value might be useful for the clinical management of malaria, particularly in hypo-endemic areas, unstable transmission areas, and other areas with similar transmission patterns.
Authors: Qingfeng Chen; Anburaj Amaladoss; Weijian Ye; Min Liu; Sara Dummler; Fang Kong; Lan Hiong Wong; Hooi Linn Loo; Eva Loh; Shu Qi Tan; Thiam Chye Tan; Kenneth T E Chang; Ming Dao; Subra Suresh; Peter R Preiser; Jianzhu Chen Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2014-01-13 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Henrietta E Mensah-Brown; James Abugri; Kwaku P Asante; Duah Dwomoh; David Dosoo; Frank Atuguba; David J Conway; Gordon A Awandare Journal: Malar J Date: 2017-03-01 Impact factor: 2.979
Authors: Francisco Y Cai; Tiffany M DeSimone; Elsa Hansen; Cameron V Jennings; Amy K Bei; Ambroise D Ahouidi; Souleymane Mboup; Manoj T Duraisingh; Caroline O Buckee Journal: PLoS Comput Biol Date: 2020-04-21 Impact factor: 4.475