Malaria in Kampuchea: clinical course of falciparum malaria in Chemin de Fer Hospital, Phnom Penh

Folia Parasitol (Praha). 1987;34(1):11-8.

Abstract

To receive actual information about the clinical course of falciparum malaria case history of 373 patients hospitalized in Chemin de Fer Hospital in Phnom Penh from May 1 till October 1, 1985 were evaluated. No patients were infected in Phnom Penh. We estimated that only 8.3% of patients had higher parasitaemia than 100,000 or more asexual parasites in microliter of peripheral blood which is considered as a heavy infection. Complicated malaria was found in 39 patients (10.4%). The most frequent complications were cerebral complications (80.0%), renal failure (23.3%), and liver failure (16.6%). Ten patients had multiple organ complications and they represented 25.6% of patients with complications. The 100% mortality was observed in those in coma stage III; with haemoglobinuria, epistaxis and melena. Only coma stage III as a single symptom caused the death. In other cases death resulted from multiple organ complications.

MeSH terms

  • Acute Kidney Injury / etiology
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Brain Diseases / etiology
  • Cambodia
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Liver Diseases / etiology
  • Malaria / complications
  • Malaria / epidemiology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Plasmodium falciparum