 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The first 300 words of the full text of this section appear below. |
Section 3. Summaries of Infectious Diseases
Malaria
Clinical ManifestationsEtiology
Epidemiology
Diagnostic Tests
Treatment
Isolation of the Hospitalized Patient
Control Measures
 Top NextSee Images |
|---|
CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS
The classic symptoms of malaria are high fever with chills, rigor, sweats, and headache, which may be paroxysmal. If appropriate treatment is not administered, fever and paroxysms may occur in a cyclic pattern. Depending on the infecting species, fever classically appears every other or every third day. Other manifestations can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, tachypnea, arthralgia, myalgia, and abdominal and back pain. Anemia and thrombocytopenia are common, and pallor and jaundice caused by hemolysis may occur. Hepatosplenomegaly may be present. More severe disease occurs in people without previous exposure, young children, and people who are pregnant or immunocompromised.
Infection with Plasmodium falciparum, one of the 4 Plasmodium species that infects humans, potentially is fatal and most commonly manifests as a febrile nonspecific illness without localizing signs. Severe P falciparum disease may manifest as one of the following clinical syndromes, all of which are medical emergencies and may be fatal unless treated:
Cerebral malaria, which may have variable neurologic manifestations, including generalized seizures, signs of increased intracranial pressure, confusion, and progression to stupor, coma, and death;
Hypoglycemia, which may occur with metabolic acidosis and hypotension associated with hyperparasitemia or be associated with quinine treatment;
Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema;
Renal failure caused by acute tubular necrosis (rare in children younger than 8 years of age);
Respiratory failure and metabolic acidosis, without pulmonary edema;
Severe anemia attributable to high parasitemia sequestration and hemolysis associated with hypersplenism; or
Vascular collapse and shock associated with hypothermia and adrenal insufficiency People with asplenia who become infected may be at increased risk of more severe illness and death.
Syndromes primarily associated with Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale infection are
Related Articles
Red Book 2009 2009: XXIX.
Red Book 2009 2009: 98-104.
Red Book 2009 2009: 182a-183a.
Red Book 2009 2009: 193-195.
Red Book 2009 2009: 108a-116a.
Red Book 2009 2009: 737.
Red Book 2009 2009: 783-816.