| Literature DB >> 26451382 |
Anna Kuna1, Michal Gajewski2, Beata Szostakowska3, Waclaw L Nahorski4, Przemyslaw Myjak3, Joanna Stanczak3.
Abstract
Malaria is, along with tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, one of the three most dangerous infectious diseases in the world. In the absence of native cases since 1963, malaria has remained in Poland an exclusively imported disease, mainly occurring in people travelling to tropical and subtropical areas for professional reasons. The aim of this study was the epidemiological and clinical analysis of 82 patients admitted to the University Center for Maritime and Tropical Medicine (UCMTM), Gdynia, Poland, with a diagnosis of malaria between 2002 and 2014. The "typical" patient with malaria was male, middle-aged, returned from Africa within the preceding 4 weeks, had not used appropriate chemoprophylaxis, and had not applied nonpharmacological methods of prophylaxis, except for window insect screens. P. falciparum was the most frequent species. The most common symptoms included fever, shivers and intensive sweating, thrombocytopenia, elevated creatinine, LDH, D-dimers and CRP, hepatomegaly, and splenomegaly. Within the analyzed group, severe malaria according to WHO standards was diagnosed in 20.7% of patients. Our report presents analysis of the largest series of patients treated for imported malaria in Poland.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2015 PMID: 26451382 PMCID: PMC4588340 DOI: 10.1155/2015/941647
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Biomed Res Int Impact factor: 3.411
The travel destinations of patients suffering from malaria.
| Continent |
| Number of persons from various countries |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 64/75.3 | Nigeria, 11; Ghana, 4; Cameroon, 4; Sudan, 4; Kenya, 3; Angola, 2; Mali, 2; Sierra Leone, 2; Ivory Coast, 2; Congo, 2; RCA, 2; Uganda, 2; Burkina Faso, 1; Chad, 1; Ethiopia, 1; Guinea, 1; Madagascar, 1; Malawi, 1; Mozambique, 1; Senegal, 1; Tanzania, 1; |
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| Central and Southern America | 7/8.2 | Venezuela, 2; Brazil, 1; French Guiana, 2; Peru, 1; |
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| Asia | 10/12.2 | India, 6; Indonesia, 2; Afghanistan, 1; multiple countries, 1 |
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| No data | 1/1.2 | |
n: number of persons.
Purpose of travel of the patients.
| Purpose of travel | Details of sojourn |
| % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duty | Missionaries | 9 | 10.9 |
| Sailors, oil platform employees | 9 | 10.9 | |
| Contract workers (speleologists, drillers, and heavy equipment operators) | 6 | 7.3 | |
| 1 | 1.2 | ||
| Students | 1 | 1.2 | |
| Volunteers | 3 | 3.6 | |
| Soldiers | 8 | 9.6 | |
| Total |
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| Private | VFR | 2 | 2.4 |
| Tourism | 26 | 31.7 | |
| Total |
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| Unknown | 17 | 20.8 | |
n: number of persons.
Symptoms prior to hospitalization.
| Symptoms and diagnoses prior to admittance, at least one from the group present |
| % |
|---|---|---|
| Fever | 75 | 91.5 |
| Shivers | 35 | 42.7 |
| Increased sweating | 18 | 22 |
| Weakness, influenza-like symptoms (musculoskeletal pains, malaise), and headaches | 15 | 18.3 |
| Diarrhea | 9 | 11 |
| Vomits | 7 | 8.5 |
| Nausea | 5 | 6.1 |
| Psychomotoric retardation, confusion | 4 | 4.9 |
| Dyspnea, cough, oliguria or anuria, and abdominal pains | 3 | 3.6 |
| Weight loss, shock, respiratory infection, and loss of appetite | 2 | 2.4 |
| Icterus, hepatic injury, DIC, miscarriage, thrombocytopenia, anemia, and middle ear infection | 1 | 1.2 |
n: number of persons.
Symptoms and diagnoses during hospitalization.
| Symptoms and diagnoses during hospitalization |
| % |
|---|---|---|
| Hepatomegaly | 52 | 63.4 |
| Shivers | 51 | 62.2 |
| Anemia | 51 | 62.2 |
| Splenomegaly | 45 | 54.9 |
| Increased sweating | 40 | 48.8 |
| Fever over 39°C | 39 | 47.6 |
| Fever 38-39°C | 36 | 43.9 |
| Icterus | 31 | 37.8 |
| Headaches | 29 | 35.4 |
| Renal failure | 21 | 25.6 |
| Muscle pains | 17 | 20.7 |
| Consciousness disorders | 17 | 20.7 |
| Nausea | 11 | 13.4 |
| Diarrhea | 11 | 14.4 |
| Abdominal pains | 9 | 11 |
| Shock | 9 | 11 |
| Vomits | 8 | 9.8 |
| Hearing loss | 6 | 7.3 |
| Bleeding | 4 | 4.9 |
| Respiratory failure | 4 | 4.9 |
| Pulmonary edema | 1 | 1.2 |
Abnormalities in laboratory results.
| Laboratory parameter | Unit | Norm | Average value | Range of values | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hemoglobin at admittance | g/dL | 11.5–16.5 | 13.48 | 6.3–16.6 | 12 |
| Hemoglobin, lowest concentration | 11.87 | 6.3–17.2 | 13.6 | ||
| Thrombocytes | G/L | 150–400 | 83 | 7–225 | 62 |
| Creatinine (highest level) | mg/dL | 0.5–0.9 | 1.66 | 0.57–19 | 1.1 |
| GPT at admittance | U/L | <33 | 50.76 | 9–191 | 44 |
| GPT highest value | 89.16 | 9–596 | 54 | ||
| GOT at admittance | U/L | <32 | 52.19 | 11–251 | 38 |
| GOT highest value | 81.51 | 11–842 | 43 | ||
| LDH | U/L | <250 | 759.43 | 260–2675 | 559 |
| Glucose | mg/dL | 70–99 | 98.75 | 67–167 | 97 |
| INR | 0.8–1.2 | 1.26 | 0.9–2.89 | 1.2 | |
| D-dimer | ng/mL | <500 | 5832.79 | 204–20000 | 3062.5 |
| pH | 7.35–7.45 | 7.41 | 7.14–7.54 | 7.43 | |
| Sodium | mmol/L | 136–145 | 136.15 | 113–146 | 136 |
| Potassium | mmol/L | 3.5–5.1 | 3.83 | 2.6–4.9 | 3.9 |
| Bilirubin | mg/dL | <1.2 | 1.95 | 0.4–11.8 | 1.2 |
| CRP | mg/L | <5 | 109.37 | 1–492 | 93.5 |
The drugs used in the treatment of malaria.
| Medication | Route of administration |
| % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quinine in total | i.v./p.o. | 51 | 62.2 |
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| Quinine | i.v. | 47 | 57.4 |
| i.v. only | 21 | 25.6 | |
| p.o. only | 30 | 36.6 | |
| Initially i.v., followed by p.o. | 26 | 31.7 | |
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| Quinine + doxycycline | 46 | 56.1 | |
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| Quinine + clindamycin | 4 | 4.9 | |
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| Quinine + doxycycline + clindamycin | 2 | 2.4 | |
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| Artemisinin derivates in total | i.v./i.m./p.o. | 23 | 28 |
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| Artesunate | i.v. | 15 | 18.3 |
| p.o. | 2 | 2.4 | |
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| Artemether + lumefantrine | p.o. | 7 | 8.5 |
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| b-artemether | i.m. | 4 | 4.9 |
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| Mefloquine | p.o. | 1 | 1.2 |
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| Sulfadoxine + pyrimethamine | p.o. | 1 | 1.2 |
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| Primaquine | p.o. | 24 | 29.3 |
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| Atovaquone/proguanil as adjuvant to ACTs | p.o. | 5 | 6.1 |
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| Atovaquone/proguanil + doxycycline + primaquine | p.o. | 1 | 1.2 |
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| Atovaquone/proguanil + quinine + doxycycline | p.o. | 1 | 1.2 |
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| Atovaquone/proguanil + artemether/lumefantrine | p.o. | 1 | 1.2 |
n: number of persons.
| Type of prophylaxis | Details |
| % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemoprophylaxis | Correctly used | Mefloquine, later followed by atovaquone + proguanil | 2 | 2.4 |
| Atovaquone + proguanil | 9 | 10.9 | ||
| Atovaquone + proguanil, later followed by doxycycline | 1 | 1.2 | ||
| Mefloquine | 2 | 2.4 | ||
| No chemoprophylaxis | 47 | 57.3 | ||
| Medication taken irregularly | 6 | 7.3 | ||
| Inappropriate medication | 2 | 2.4 | ||
| No data | 16 | 19.5 | ||
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| Window insect screens | Declared usage | 39 | 49.6 | |
| Not used | 27 | 35.4 | ||
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| Mosquito bed nets | Declared usage | 3 | 3.7 | |
| Not used | 63 | 76.8 | ||
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| Repellents | Declared usage | 20 | 24.4 | |
| Not used | 46 | 56.1 | ||
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| Insecticides | Declared usage | 5 | 6.1 | |
| Not used | 61 | 74.4 | ||
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n: number of persons.
| No nonpharmacologic prophylaxis | Window insect screen | Mosquito bed net | Insect repellents | Insecticides |
| % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular chemoprophylaxis | X | 3 | 3.7 | ||||
| X | 1 | 1.2 | |||||
| X | X | 2 | 2.4 | ||||
| X | X | X | 2 | 2.4 | |||
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| Medication taken irregularly | X | 3 | 3.7 | ||||
| X | 1 | 1.2 | |||||
| X | X | 5 | 6.1 | ||||
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| Inappropriate medication | X | 1 | 1.2 | ||||
| X | X | 1 | 1.2 | ||||
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| No medication | X | 14 | 17.1 | ||||
| X | X | 1 | 1.2 | ||||
| X | X | 3 | 3.7 | ||||
| X | X | X | 2 | 2.4 | |||
| X | 14 | 17.1 | |||||
n: number of persons.