Table 2.
Malaria Admissions and the Severe Disease Syndromes
| Severity feature | n (%) or n/N (%) | Median age, months (IQR) | Case fatality, (%, 95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All malaria admissions | 5766 | 36 (18–60) | 211/5766 (3.7, 3.2–4.2) |
| Uncomplicated malaria | 3426 | 36 (18–66) | 48/3426 (1.4, 1.0–1.8) |
| Severe malaria | 2340 | 36 (16–60) | 163/2340 (7.0, 6.0–8.1) |
| Severe malaria admissions | |||
| AVPU score = U; cerebral malaria 1 | 81/2208 (3.7) | 48 (30–84) | 36/81 (44.4, 33.4–55.9) |
| AVPU score = U or P; cerebral malaria 2 | 299/2208 (13.5) | 44 (20–72) | 62/299 (20.7, 16.3–25.8) |
| AVPU score = V | 122/2208 (5.5) | 36 (24–63) | 9/122 (7.4, 3.4–13.5) |
| Inability to drink/breastfeed | 665/2240 (29.7) | 32 (16–54) | 22/665 (3.3, 2.1–5.0) |
| Convulsions ≥2 | 317/2340 (13.6) | 30 (17–48) | 12/317 (3.8, 2.0–6.5) |
| Anemia | |||
| Severe anemia: clinical criteria or Hb ≤5 g/dL | 1057/2340 (45.2) | 36 (18–62) | 87/1057 (8.2, 6.6–10.1) |
| Hemoglobin ≤5 g/dL | 576/2340 (24.6) | 36 (19–66) | 33/576 (5.7, 4.0–8.0) |
| Clinically diagnosed severe anemia: Hb not documented | 481/2340 (20.6) | 36 (16–60) | 54/481 (11.2, 8.5–14.3) |
| Respiratory symptoms | |||
| Severe respiratory distress: deep breathing or chest indrawing | 441/2239 (19.7) | 19 (9–41) | 61/441 (13.8, 10/7–17.4) |
| Deep breathing, no indrawing | 136/2239 (6.1) | 30 (16–51) | 28/136 (20.6, 14.1–28.4) |
| Chest indrawing with or without deep breathing | 349/2239 (15.6) | 15 (9–36) | 44/349 (12.6, 9.3–16.6) |
Denomitators less than 2340 show cases with complete data; children may have had more than 1 severity feature.
Abbreviations: AVPU, alert, response to voice, response to pain, unconscious scale; CI, confidence interval; Hb, hemoglobin; IQR, interquartile range; P, responsive to pain; U, unconscious; V, responsive to a voice.