Table 3.

Complications

Criteria	Definition	Number of patients (%)
Unrousable coma	Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤9; exclude other causes; should persist ≥30 minutes after a generalized convulsion	3 (2,5)
Impaired consciousness	Mental clouding, rousable	11 (9)
Multiple seizures	Three or more convulsions observed within 24 hours	0 (0)
Respiratory distress	Acidotic breathing, pulmonary oedema, or acute respiratory distress syndrome, on the basis of radiographic densities, hypoxaemia, and positive end-expiratory pressure	4 (3.3)
Circulatory collapse or shock	Systolic blood pressure <80 mmHg despite adequate volume repletion	5 (4.1)
Abnormal bleeding	Spontaneous bleeding from gums, nose, gastrointestinal tract, or laboratory evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation	4 (3.3)
Jaundice/hyperbilirubinaemia	Icteric sclera/buccal mucosa, or serum bilirubin >50 μmol/l (>3 mg/dl)	17 (13.9)
Severe anaemia	Heemoglobin concentration <5 g/l, or haematocrit <15%	0 (0)
Hypoglycaemia	Whole blood glucose concentration <2.2 mmol/l (<40 mg/dl)	3 (2.5)
Renal failure	Serum creatinine >265 μmol/l, oliguria (<400 ml/24 hours) despite adequate rehydration	5 (4.1)
Hyperparasitaemia	More than 5% parasitized erythrocytes or >250,000 parasites/μl (in nonimmune individuals)	13 (10.7)
Acidosis	Plasma bicarbonate <15 mmol/l or base excess under -10, or acidaemia (arteria/capillaryl pH <7.25)	4 (3.3)
Macroscopic haemoglobinuria	Dark or red urine; exclude haematuria, haemolysis not secondary to glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency	ND

The complications are defined according to the World Health Organization classification system [20] (n = 34 patients). ND, not determined