Features of malaria among patients HIV infected in a Department of Infectious Diseases in Bamako

ABSTRACT

Introduction. We studied malaria in HIV infected subjects hospitalized in the department of infectious diseases at Point G Teaching Hospital in Mali, with the objective to have current data on malaria in patients infected by HIV. Materials and methods. We conducted a prospective study from October, 1st 2016 to September 30th 2018 in patients seropositive for HIV having positive thick smear for Plasmodium and hospitalized in the department of infectious diseases at Point G Teaching Hospital. We collected sociodemographic, clinical and lab data form those patients. Data have been entered and analyzed using SPSS20.0 software. Results. Hospital frequency of malaria among People living with HIV was 24.4% (151/618). This population has a mean-age of 44.1±12.4 y/o and a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.86. Majority of patients were at WHO stage IV of HIV infection (63.4%). Symptoms were by decreasing frequency fever (98.3%); headache (86.4%); anorexia (72.9%); asthenia (61.0%) and vomiting (42.4%). the mean parasitemia was 172.9±352.1 trophozoite/mm3 . Mean hemoglobin level was 9.1±3.2 g/dl and the mean CD4 count was 9±3 cell/mm3 . Severe malaria was independent from WHO HIV stage and from immunologic deficiency. The malaria treatment when correctly followed conduct to good improvement of the anemia (p = 0.03) and the negativity of the parasitemia (p = 0.00). Death in our HIV patient is linked to association with severe malaria (p = 0,012). Conclusion. Malaria is relatively common and severe among PLWHA in Mali. Prompt treatment is still effective and must be implemented to ensure a good prognosis. Despite cotrimoxazole chemoprophylaxis, a certain number of PLHIV suffer from malaria, raising the hypothesis of plasmodium resistance to antifolates.