Unusual presentations of falciparum malaria

ABSTRACT

Two hundred and eighty cases of malaria were diagnosed by our clinical laboratory during the year 1988-1989. Two hundred and fifty two [90%] were suffering from Falciparum malaria while twenty eight [10%] were having VIVAX malaria. Thirteen cases [5.2%] of Falciparum malaria presented with diverse clinical haematological and biochemical pictures the so called pernicious syndromes of Falciparum malaria. In all these cases the film for malarial parasites showed heavy parasitaemia. The abnormal presentations were epistaxis, bloody diarrhoea, urticaria, hepatic coma, abortion, uraemia and polyarthritis respectively. These diverse manifestations may be due to the role of genetic immunological and environmental factors