Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of African Pediatric Patients with Severe Febrile Illness Screened for Severe Malaria, by Study Site
| Variable | Muheza (n=1024) | Beira (n=874) | P |
| Data collection period | Dec 2006–Mar 2008 | Jul 2005–Apr 2009 | |
| Male sex | 527 (51.5) | 463 (53.0) | .512 |
| Age, median months (IQR) | 18 (9–35) | 36 (24–65) | <.001 |
| Presenting symptoms | |||
| Severity criteria per patient, median no. of criteria (range) | 2 (1–7) | 2 (1–6) | .006 |
| Coma | 177 (17) | 417 (48) | <.001 |
| Prostration | 412 (40) | 338 (39) | .488 |
| Convulsions | 211 (21) | 724 (83) | <.001 |
| Decompensated shock | 16 (2) | 10 (1) | .434 |
| Compensated shock | 76 (7) | NAa | |
| Severe respiratory distress and/or acidotic breathing | 636 (62) | 27 (3) | <.001 |
| Hypoglycemia | 109 (11) | 36 (4) | <.001 |
| Severe anemia with respiratory distress | 156 (15) | 85 (10) | <.001 |
| Hemoglobinuria | 3 (<1) | 16 (2) | .001 |
| Severe jaundice | 12 (1) | 17 (2) | .171 |
| Slide results/parasitemia | |||
| Slide negative | 409 (40) | 268 (31) | <.001 |
| Slide positive | 530 (52) | 550 (63) | |
| Slide positive but no Pf count | 85 (8) | 56 (6) | |
| Geometric mean parasites/μLb(95% CI) | 35,196 (27,533–44,990) | 32,974 (25,841–42,076) | .711 |
NOTE. Data are no. (%) of patients, unless otherwise indicated. CI, confidence interval; IQR, interquartile range; Pf, Plasmodium falciparum.
a
Compensated shock was not recorded at the moment of screening in Beira.
b
From slide-positive patients with Pf count.