RT Book, Section
A1 Krishna, Sanjeev
A1 Dondorp, Arjen M.
A2 Hall, Jesse B.
A2 Schmidt, Gregory A.
A2 Kress, John P.
SR Print(0)
ID 1107721478
T1 Severe Malaria
T2 Principles of Critical Care, 4e
YR 2015
FD 2015
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071738811
LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1107721478
RD 2024/04/16
AB Malaria  should  be  excluded  as  a  cause  of  fever  in  any  febrile  patient  who  has  traveled  recently  to  a  malaria-endemic  area,  or  who  may  have  been  infected  by  contaminated  blood  through  transfusions,  needlestick  injury,  or  other  methods  of  direct  infection.Immunity  to  malaria  may  be  short  lived,  so  that  even  those  who  have  been  brought  up  in  malaria-endemic  areas  can  develop  severe  disease  when  they  return  as  travelers.Severe  malaria  is  a  medical  emergency  and  ideally  should  be  managed  by  experienced  personnel  in  an  intensive  care  setting.Although  Plasmodium  falciparum  is  the  most  important  cause  of  serious  malaria,  P  vivax  and  P  knowlesi  can  also  cause  severe  and  fatal  infections.Intravenous  artesunate  should  be  given  as  soon  as  practicable  and  alternative  or  additional  diagnoses  should  be  excluded.Complications  of  malaria  such  as  hypoglycemia,  lactic  acidosis,  seizures,  organ  failure,  and  secondary  infections  should  be  diagnosed  early  by  regular  monitoring  and  managed  aggressively.Malaria  can  be  particularly  severe  in  immunocompromised  individuals  including  those  who  have  been  splenectomized.