Answer to Case 711

 Answer to the Parasite Case of the Week 711: Plasmodium falciparuminfection with high parasitemia. Primarily early stage trophozoites are seen, but a single (somewhat) banana-shaped gametocyte and possibly later stage trophozoites are often seen. Given the high level of parasitemia, it ' s not surprising that we are seeing some some extracellular forms. If there happens to be concern about an alternate diagnosis of babesiosis (i.e., if the travel history wasn ' t known), then PCR could be performed. In this case, the presence of hemozoin and elongated gametocytes allows us to rule out babesiosis from the differential diagnosis. Florida Fan nicely describes this case as follows:" The infected red cells are of all sizes; this shows that there ’s no predilection either for young red cells or older red cells. " (There are also no Sch üffner ' s dots). " As such we can rule outP. vivax,ovaleandmalariae. The multiple infection with double rings, appliqu é forms, and head phones orient us further into an identification ofP. falciparum. The lone banana-shaped gametocyte further confirmsP. falciparumbeing the causative agent. There is no morphology forms (or travel history) to indicate a possible monkey malaria. With such a high parasitemia this case is serious cause to emphasize the urgency that all malaria testing are to be a stat test 24/7. "Indeed, all cases of suspected malaria should be evaluated on a a STAT basis given the potential life-threatening nature o...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs