Table 5.
Frequency of complications in malaria patients
| Criteria | P. falciparum | P. vivax | p value a |
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | ||
| One complication | 43 | 42 | |
| Hepatic dysfunction (TB >3 mg/dL) | 8 (15.1) | 12 (26.1) | ns |
| Hepatic dysfunction (ALT > 120 U/L) | 12 (22.6) | 2 (4.3) | 0.001 |
| Renal dysfunction (serum creatinine > 1.5 mg/dL or BUN > 40 mg/dL) | 7 (13.2) | 7 (15.2) | ns |
| Prostration | 6 (11.3) | 5 (10.9) | ns |
| Haemoglobinuria (urine dipstick) | 1 (1.9) | 9 (19.6) | 0.005 |
| Respiratory distress | 1 (1.9) | 3 (6.5) | ns |
| Hyperparasitaemia (>50,000 asexual parasites/μL) | 3 (5.7) | 1 (2.2) | ns |
| Abnormal spontaneous bleeding | 3 (5.7) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Severe anaemia (Hb < 7 g/dL) | 1 (1.9) | 2 (4.3) | ns |
| Cardiogenic shock/systolic dysfunction (SBP < 70 mm Hg) | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Severe thrombocytopaenia (≤20,000 platelets/μL) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.2) | NA |
| More than one complication | 10 | 4 | |
| Hyperparasitaemia plus | |||
| Severe thrombocytopaenia | 2 (3.8) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Hepatic dysfunction | 1 (1.9) | 1 (2.2) | ns |
| Renal dysfunction | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Respiratory distress | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Severe anaemia | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Haemoglobinuria | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.2) | NA |
| Hepatic dysfunction plus | |||
| Prostration | 2 (3.8) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Severe thrombocytopaenia | 1 (2.2) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Renal dysfunction | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Renal dysfunction plus | |||
| Prostration | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.2) | NA |
| Abnormal spontaneous bleeding | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
ap value using the Fisher’s exact test. ALT, alanine aminotransferase; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; Hb, haemoglobin; NA, not applicable; ns, not significant; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TB, total bilirubin. Most frequent and significant data are highlighted in bold.