Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the study participants
| Clinical groupsa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | non-SMA (Hb ≥ 6.0 g/dL) n = 207 |
SMA (Hb < 6.0 g/dL) n = 162 |
P value |
| Sex, n (%) | |||
| Male | 107 (51.7) | 74 (45.7) | 0.252b |
| Female | 100 (48.3) | 88 (54.3) | |
| Age, (months) | 13.0 (7.8, 19.0) | 9.6 (6.6, 16.3) | 0.019 c |
| Parasite/μL | 14,711.7 (3257.4, 48,353.7) | 15,656.6 (3258.0, 46,598.1) | 0.760c |
| Temperature, (°C) | 37.6 (36.8, 38.6) | 37.9 (36.9, 38.5) | 0.542c |
| Respiration rate, (breaths/min) | 30.0 (24.0, 40.0) | 32.0 (28.0, 40.0) | <0.028 c |
| Hematological Parameters | |||
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 9.4 (8.1, 11.2) | 5.0 (4.3, 5.5) | <0.001 c |
| Hematocrit, % | 29.0 (24.8, 34.6) | 16.1 (13.5, 17.8) | <0.001 c |
| RBC, × (1012/μL) | 4.2 (3.6, 4.9) | 2.2 (1.9, 2.7) | <0.001 c |
| RDW, % | 19.6 (16.5, 21.5) | 22.9 (21.1, 25.8) | <0.001 c |
| WBC (×103/uL) | 10.9 (9.0, 14.3) | 13.0 (9.2, 17.4) | 0.010 c |
| Platelet Counts (×103/uL) | 176.0 (122.0, 282.0) | 147.5 (105.0, 200.5) | <0.001 c |
| Confounding factors | |||
| Infections | |||
| Bacteremia, n (%) | 46 (46.9) | 52 (53.1) | 0.035 |
| HIV-1, n (%) | 9 (39.1) | 14 (60.9) | 0.090 |
| Genetic factors | |||
| Sickle cell trait | 1 (20.0) | 4 (80.0) | 0.110 |
| G6PD | 12 (66.7) | 6 (33.3) | 0.310 |
| Alpha-thalassemia | 35 (46.1) | 41 (53.9) | 0.070 |
Data are presented as the median (interquartile range; IQR) and n (%) unless stated otherwise
Abbreviations: G6PD Glucose-6-phospahte dehydrogenase, RBC red blood cells, RDW red cell distribution width, WBC white blood cells
aChildren with P. falciparum malaria (n = 369) were categorized as non-SMA (n = 207) and SMA (n = 162) according to modified definition of SMA (Hb < 6.0 g/dL, with any density parasitemia)
bStatistical significance was determined by the Chi-square (χ2) analysis
cStatistical significance was determined using Mann-Whitney U test
Values in bold are significant p-values at a cut-off of p < 0.05