Open AccessSickle cells are not necessarily protective against falciparum- A case report
Author(s) -
JessElizabeth Rasalam,
Snehil Kumar,
K Sujith,
Fouzia Na,
Arpana Palle,
Dolly Daniel,
SukeshChandran Nair
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
asian journal of transfusion science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.262
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1998-3565
pISSN - 0973-6247
DOI - 10.4103/ajts.ajts_122_21
Subject(s) - malaria , parasitemia , medicine , hemolysis , anemia , sickle cell trait , immunology , plasmodium falciparum , spleen , disease , sickle cell anemia , hemolytic anemia , pathology
The relation between sickle cell disease (SCD) and malaria is captivating where sickling of the infected red blood cells (RBCs) causes premature hemolysis and parasite death. Although patients with sickle cell trait are relatively protected, malaria can often lead to marked anemia in them due to hemolysis. We report an unusual case of a child with homozygous SCD presenting with falciparum malaria and had hyper parasitemia and severe anemia which completely resolved following treatment. Clinical suspicion in our case arose considering the endemic nature of malaria in our country. The two overlapping injuries to spleen reduced the clearance of parasites by the spleen as evidenced by high parasite load. Our case report reinforces malaria as a cause of clinical worsening of SCD and highlights the importance of a multifactorial approach in the management of worsening anemia in SCD.