Table 2.
Characteristics of Adult Patients with Plasmodium falciparum Malaria, According to Disease Severity
| Characteristic | No. (%) of Patients | P Valueb | OR (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (N = 937) | Nonsevere Malaria (n = 845) | Severe Malariaa (n = 92) | Unadjustedc | ||
| Age, y | |||||
| Median (range) | 37 (18–83.3) | 36.8 (18–83.3) | 44.4 (19.4–75) | <.001 | |
| 18–29 | 241 (25.7) | 231 (27.3) | 10 (10.9) | <.001 | 1 (ref) |
| 30–39 | 302 (32.2) | 281 (33.3) | 21 (22.8) | 1.73 (.80–3.74) | |
| 40–49 | 209 (22.3) | 183 (21.7) | 26 (28.3) | 3.28 (1.54–6.98) | |
| 50–59 | 133 (14.2) | 112 (13.3) | 21 (22.8) | 4.33 (1.97–9.51) | |
| ≥60 | 52 (5.6) | 38 (4.5) | 14 (15.2) | 8.51(3.53–20.54) | |
| Patient origin | |||||
| Endemicd | 547 (58.4) | 511 (60.5) | 36 (39.1) | <.001 | 1 (ref) |
| Non/low endemice | 388 (41.4) | 332 (39.3) | 56 (60.9) | 2.39 (1.54–3.72) | |
| Missing | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 0 | ||
| Duration of residency, in patients with endemic origin | |||||
| <15 y | 385 (70.4) | 363 (71.0) | 22 (61.1) | .11 | 1 (ref) |
| ≥15 y | 121 (22.1) | 109 (21.3) | 12 (33.3) | 1.82 (.87–3.79) | |
| Missing | 41 (7.5) | 39 (7.6) | 2 (5.6) | ||
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 623 (66.5) | 567 (67.1) | 56 (60.9) | .23 | 1 (ref) |
| Female | 314 (33.5) | 278 (32.9) | 36 (39.1) | 1.31 (.84–2.04) | |
| Region of infectionf | |||||
| Eastern Africa | 337 (36.0) | 304 (36.0) | 33 (35.9) | ||
| Middle Africa | 73 (7.8) | 67 (7.9) | 6 (6.5) | ||
| Northern Africa | 14 (1.5) | 13 (1.5) | 1 (1.1) | ||
| Southern Africa | 14 (1.5) | 12 (1.4) | 2 (2.2) | ||
| Western Africa | 452 (48.2) | 409 (48.4) | 43 (46.7) | ||
| Africa, region unknown | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 0 (0) | ||
| Americasg | 5 (5.3) | 5 (0.6) | 0 (0) | ||
| South Asia | 8 (0.9) | 5 (0.6) | 3 (3.3) | ||
| Southeast Asia | 30 (3.2) | 26 (3.1) | 4 (4.4) | ||
| Oceania | 1 (0.11) | 1 (0.12) | 0 (0) | ||
| Chemoprophylaxis use | |||||
| Regular | 171 (18.3) | 153 (18.1) | 18 (19.6) | .70 | 1 (ref) |
| Irregular | 136 (14.5) | 125 (14.8) | 11 (12.0) | 0.75 (.34–1.64) | |
| None | 586 (62.5) | 525 (62.1) | 61 (66.3) | 0.99 (.57–1.72) | |
| Missing | 44 (4.7) | 42 (5.0) | 2 (2.2) | ||
| Patient delay, d | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 3.69 (3.69) | 3.67 (3.72) | 3.73 (3.41) | .42 | |
| 0–1 | 221 (23.6) | 200 (23.7) | 21 (22.8) | .76 | 1 (ref) |
| 2–3 | 335 (35.7) | 303 (35.9) | 31 (33.7) | 0.97 (.54–1.74) | |
| ≥4 | 359 (38.31) | 320 (37.9) | 39 (42.4) | 1.16 (.66–2.03) | |
| Missing | 23 (2.5) | 22 (2.6) | 1 (1.1) | ||
| Health care delay, d | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 0.7 (3.4) | 0.6 (3.5) | 1.1 (2.12) | .001 | |
| 0 | 734 (78.3) | 678 (80.2) | 56 (60.9) | .001 | 1 (ref) |
| 1 | 66 (7.0) | 53 (6.3) | 13 (14.1) | 2.97 (1.53–5.77) | |
| ≥2 | 83 (8.9) | 63 (7.5) | 20 (21.7) | 4.74 (2.09–10.73) | |
| Missing | 54 (5.8) | 51 (6.0) | 3 (3.3) | ||
| Pregnancy | |||||
| No. (%) of women | 14 (4.5) | 11 (4.0) | 3 (8.3) | .21 | 2.21 (.59–8.32) |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; SD, standard deviation.
aAccording to World Health Organization criteria for severe malaria [14] and/or hyperparasitemia >5% (Table 1).
bORs estimated using univariable logistic regression.
c P values estimated with χ2 test for categorical data and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test for continuous data.
dOrigin in countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
eThree hundred fifty-five from Sweden, 12 from other countries in Europe, 10 from Asia, 3 from South America, 4 from North America, 3 from Australia and New Zealand.
fCountries classified into regions according to United Nations geoscheme.
gSouth America and the Caribbean.