Clinical profile and renal complications among cases of malaria in children attending a tertiary care hospital of South India

ABSTRACT

Background: Malaria is one of the major vectors borne disease globally responsible for 1 million deaths a year. Changing trends in the causative species and epidemiological distribution have identified icterus and renal involvement as an emerging complication associated with severe mortality in children. The objectives of this study were aimed to study the clinical profile of malaria cases admitted in a pediatric ward. The study also highlights the involvement of renal manifestations in the cases with regard to species distribution and associated complications in the study group.Methods: A prospective study for 14 months was conducted, and all positive cases of malaria admitted in paediatric unit were enrolled and socio demographic data, clinical history were collected, and biochemical investigations were performed and analyzed. SPSS software version 12 was used for analysis. Statistical significance was set at p ?0.05.Results: About 278 subjects with 55.4% males, 44.6% females and with 5-10 years was most common age group. 102 cases of vivax malaria, 152 cases were falciparum and 24 were mixed cases. Cerebral malaria, hyperparasitemia was identified in 28 cases, DIC in 5.04% of cases. Renal involvement was observed in 38.16% of falciparum infections and 27.45% of vivax infections. 68 cases developed acute renal failure as a severe complication.Conclusions: 'Renal involvement is more in falciparum and mixed infections than vivax malaria. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment help in early recovery of cases and halts to progression to renal failure. An urgent need for a biomarker for early identification of renal involvement in malaria before biochemical involvement is detected.