Open AccessMalaria in the Intensive Care Unit
Author(s) -
Ashit Hegde
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
indian journal of critical care medicine/indian journal of critical care medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.317
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1998-359X
pISSN - 0972-5229
DOI - 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23871
Subject(s) - medicine , malaria , intensive care unit , intensive care medicine , immunology
Most cases of severe malaria are caused by Plasmodium falciparum . Severe malaria is characterized by severe organ dysfunction. Both peripheral smear examination and rapid diagnostic test have a role in the diagnosis. Parenteral artesunate is clearly the drug of choice for the management of severe malaria. Parenteral artesunate should always be followed up with ACT. Most of the complications of severe malaria require supportive care only. The role of exchange transfusions in the management of severe malaria is questionable in the postartesunate era. Malaria in pregnancy can be quite severe and artesunate is now the drug of choice for all three trimesters. Vivax malaria is being increasingly recognized as a cause of severe malaria. The cause for this increased virulence is still not clear. Management of severe vivax malaria is similar to that of severe falciparum malaria. How to cite this article: Hegde A. Malaria in the Intensive Care Unit. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(Suppl 2):S127-S129.