Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of children with severe malarial anemia, according hemoglobin AA (HbAA) or hemoglobin SS (HbSS) genotype
| HbAA, n=208 | HbSS, n=22 | P valuee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 2.7 (2.0, 4.1) | 4.6 (3.7, 5.7) | 0.007 |
| Sex, n male (%) | 127 (61.1%) | 13 (59.1%) | 0.86 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL, mean (SD) | 3.7 (0.9) | 3.7 (0.6) | 0.38 |
| WBC, mean (SD) | 12.9 (8.2)a | 32.7 (16.0) | < 0.001 |
| Thrombocytopenia, n (%) | 109 (52.9%)a | 8 (36.4%) | 0.14 |
| P. falciparum parasite density, parasites/µL, median (25th, 75th percentile) | 49,813b (14,678, 229,046) | 41,586c (2,261, 140,672) | 0.18 |
| Required oxygen, n (%) | 19 (9.1%) | 1 (4.6%) | 0.47 |
| Blood culture, n positive (%) | 22 (12.4%)d | 1 (5.6%)d | 0.39 |
| Given antibiotics, n (%) | 63 (30.3%) | 10 (45.5%) | 0.15 |
| Death, n (%) | 1 (0.5%) | 0 (0%) | 0.56 |
WBC, white blood cell count; thrombocytopenia = platelet count < 100,000/µL
a
n for HbAA =206,
b
n for HbAA = 205,
c
n for HbSS = 21
d
n for HbAA = 177, n for HbSS = 18
e
Continuous variables compared by Student’s t-test except P. falciparum parasite density, compared by Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Categorical variables compared by χ2 analysis.