Table 1.

Severity criteria in Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Type	Criteria	Definition
Clinical	Impaired consciousness	Any impairment in consciousness, not related to other causes (hypoglycaemia, concomitant infection)
	Prostration	Generalized weakness so that the patient is unable to sit, stand or walk without assistance
	Multiple convulsions	More than two episodes within 24 h
	Respiratory failure	PaO2 <60 mmH (FiO2 21 %)
	Shock	Systolic blood pressure <80 mmHg
	Jaundice	Clinical jaundice plus evidence of other vital organ dysfunction
	Bleeding	Spontaneous bleeding without any other potential cause
Analytical and radiological	Hypoglycaemia	<2.2 mmol/l or <40 mg/dl
	Metabolic acidosis	Plasma bicarbonate <15 mmol/l
	Severe normocytic anaemia	Haemoglobin <5 g/dl
	Haemoglobinuria	Haemoglobin in urine
	Hyperlactataemia	Lactate >5 mmol/l
	Renal impairment	Serum creatinine >265 µmol/l
	Pulmonary oedema or distress respiratory syndrome	Bilateral alveolar infiltrates in chest x-ray
Parasitological	Hyperparasitaemia	Parasitaemia >2.5 %

Adapted from World Health Organization [2]