What does complicated malaria mean?

What does complicated malaria mean?

Severe malaria occurs when infections are complicated by serious organ failures or abnormalities in the patient’s blood or metabolism. The manifestations of severe malaria include the following: Cerebral malaria, with abnormal behavior, impairment of consciousness, seizures, coma, or other neurologic abnormalities.

What is the difference between severe and complicated malaria?

Diagnosis of severe complicated Malaria is based on clinical assessment of a patient who presents with the clinical features discussed and a positive blood slide for Plasmodium falciparum Malaria. Whereas severe malaria may affect any person, some people are at higher risk of contracting severe malaria than others.

Which type of malaria is caused by Plasmodium vivax?

Although infection by P. vivax has long been known as ‘benign tertian malaria’, that dogma of harmlessness has been revealed as fallacious. 2,5 Among patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of vivax malaria, about 10–20% will be classified as having severe illness, and 5%–15% of those will not survive.

Can vivax cause severe malaria?

Malaria is still a major health problem in some parts of the world. Plasmodium falciparum is the common pathogenic parasite and is responsible for majority of malaria associated deaths. Recently the other benign parasite, P. vivax, is reported to cause life threatening severe malaria complications.

How is complicated malaria treated?

There are currently three recommended treatments for severe and complicated malaria: artesunate (AS), artemether (AM) and quinine (or quinidine), although in many countries only quinine is available.

What are the signs of complicated malaria?

Clinical symptoms such as fever, headache, diarrhea, hyperpyrexia, hemoglobunria, persistent vomiting, impaired consciousness, convulsion, respiratory distress, persistent vomiting, hypotension, anorexia, nausea, and rigor were assessed following criteria set on guideline for malaria diagnosis and treatment [20].

What are the symptoms of Plasmodium vivax?

Symptoms

  • Fever.
  • Chills.
  • General feeling of discomfort.
  • Headache.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Abdominal pain.
  • Muscle or joint pain.

What are the symptoms of vivax malaria?

Signs and symptoms of malaria may include:

  • Fever.
  • Chills.
  • General feeling of discomfort.
  • Headache.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Abdominal pain.
  • Muscle or joint pain.

How is vivax malaria treated?

vivax malaria is treated with chloroquine or artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) for the blood stage infection. While chloroquine has been standard treatment for vivax malaria for some 70 years, the emergence and global spread of chloroquine resistance in P.

What are the symptoms of complicated malaria?

What causes complicated malaria?

Severe malaria is most commonly caused by the progression of an infection with Plasmodium falciparum to a complicated stage, although P. vivax and P. knowlesi can also cause severe disease.