Open AccessThrombocytopenia in children with malaria–A study from coastal Karnataka, India
Author(s) -
Guruprasada Shetty,
K. Shreedhara Avabratha,
Seema Gonsalves,
A Dany,
B Sanjeev
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
asian pacific journal of tropical disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.208
H-Index - 33
ISSN - 2222-1808
DOI - 10.1016/s2222-1808(12)60026-7
Subject(s) - malaria , medicine , plasmodium vivax , plasmodium falciparum , severe malaria , pediatrics , retrospective cohort study , immunology
Objective: To study the occurrence and severity of thrombocytopenia in children with malaria.\udMethods: It was a retrospective study, done at Fr Muller Medical College Hospital Mangalore,\udin Karnataka, India. Data regarding all positive cases of malaria < 15 years admitted in the\udhospital between January 2010 to June 2011 were obtained. Patients were further assessed for\udthrombocytopenia and its severity. Data were analysed by Chi square test using SPSS version\ud13.0. Results: A total of 159 cases were included in the study with a mean age of presentation\udof 9 years. Plasmodium vivax was identified in 106 (66%) patients while Plasmodium falciparum\udin 26 (16%) and mixed infection in 27 (18%) patients. Thrombocytopenia was observed in 113 (71%)\udcases, of which 35 (31%) cases had mild, 49 (43%) cases moderate and 29 (26%) cases had severe\udthrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia was equally found in vivax and falciparum infection\udwith no significant difference in severity between vivax and falciparum species. Conclusions:\udThrombocytopenia is frequently seen in malaria and it is not dependent on type of malaria. In any\udacute febrile illness, thrombocytopenia should alert one to the possibility of malaria