Table 1.
Summary of admission characteristics and outcomes of neonatal and congenital malaria
| Variable | Congenital malaria | Neonatal malaria | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 | Case 2 | Case 3 | Case 4 | |
| Mother | ||||
| Age (years) | 28 | 24 | 24 | 26 |
| HIV status | Negative | Positive | Negative | Negative |
| Parity | 2 + 1 | 3 + 0 | 1 + 0 | 1 + 0 |
| Fever within 14 days of delivery | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Neonate | ||||
| Age (days) | 2 | 1 | 14 | 16 |
| Sex | M | F | M | F |
| Birth weight (kg) | 2.7 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 2.8 |
| Admission weight (kg) | 2.4 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 2.5 |
| Symptoms | ||||
| Fever | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Duration of fever (days) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Fast breathing | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Breastfeeding | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Poor feeding | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Signs | ||||
| Temperature (°C) | 40.1 | 34.8 | 36.1 | 39.1 |
| Jaundice | Yes | No | No | No |
| Pallor | Yes | No | No | No |
| Respiratory rate (breath/m) | 104 | Not taken | Not taken | 72 |
| Heart rate (BPM) | 225 | 108 | 166 | 113 |
| SP02 (%) | 96 | 79 | 96 | 68 |
| Hepatomegaly | No | No | No | No |
| Splenomegaly | No | No | No | No |
| Tachycardia | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Laboratory | ||||
| CSF | ||||
| Proteins (g/L) | 0.3 | No | No | < 0.1 |
| Sugar (mmol/L) | 8.12 | No | No | 10.08 |
| WBC | 75 × 106/L | No | No | < 5 × 106/L |
| Malaria | ||||
| Blood slide | Positive | Positive | Positive | Positive |
| Treatment | ||||
| Antibioticsa | Cefotaxime/Genta | Amp/Genta | Amp/Genta | Amp/Genta |
| Anti-malarial | Artesunate | Artesunate | Artesunate | Artesunate |
| Blood transfusion | No | No | No | No |
| Oxygen | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Outcome | ||||
| At discharge | Alive | Alive | Alive | Alive |
Ampi/Genta ampicillin and gentamycin, BPM beats per minute, °C degree celsius, g/L grams per litre, kg kilogram, L litre, mmol millimole, WBC white blood cell
aEmpirical treatment