Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

In tropical areas, where unsupervised use of antimalarial drugs is common, patients with an illness consistent clinically with severe malaria but with negative blood smears pose a management dilemma. Malaria pigment is evident in peripheral blood leukocytes in greater than 90% of patients with severe malaria. To characterize the clearance kinetics of parasitized erythrocytes and malaria pigment-containing leukocytes, sequential peripheral blood and intradermal smears were assessed in 27 adult Vietnamese patients with severe falciparum malaria. The clearance of parasitized erythrocytes and pigment-containing monocytes (PCMs) followed first order kinetics. The elimination of pigment-containing neutrophils (PCNs) was first order initially, but deviated from this when counts were low. Clearance of peripheral blood PCMs (median clearance time, 216 hours; range, 84 to 492 hours) was significantly slower than that of parasitized erythrocytes (median, 96 hours; range, 36 to 168 hours) or PCNs (median, 72 hours; range, 0 to 168 hours; P < .0001). Intradermal PCM clearance times were the longest of all (median, 12 days; range, 6 to 23 days; significantly longer than peripheral blood PCM clearance, P < .001). Twenty-one (88%) patients still had signs, symptoms, or laboratory features of severe malaria after parasite clearance but before phagocyte pigment clearance. Sixteen of the 23 surviving patients (70%; 95% confidence interval, 50% to 87%) still had intraleukocytic malaria pigment on peripheral blood films 72 hours after parasite clearance. Thus, by determining the distribution of malaria pigment in peripheral blood and intradermal phagocytes, the time since effective antimalarial treatment started can be estimated. Microscopy for intraleukocytic pigment is valuable in the differential diagnosis of severe febrile illnesses in malarious areas where uncontrolled use of antimalarial drugs is widespread.

Type

Journal

Blood

Publication Date

12/1996

Volume

88

Pages

4694 - 4700

Addresses

Centre for Tropical Diseases, Cho Quan Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Keywords

Erythrocytes, Leukocytes, Phagocytes, Humans, Malaria, Falciparum, Hemeproteins, Parasite Egg Count, Prospective Studies, Adult, Female, Male, Pigments, Biological