Diarrhea in Children with Plasmodium falciparum Malaria: A Case-Control Study on the Prevalence and Response to Antimalarial Treatment.

Diarrhea in Children with Plasmodium falciparum Malaria: A Case-Control Study on the Prevalence and Response to Antimalarial Treatment. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Dec 14;: Authors: Lo Vecchio A, Basile FW, Bruzzese D, Di Dato F, Aol P, Omona V, Smarrazzo A, Guarino A Abstract The role of Plasmodium in the etiology of acute diarrhea in developing countries remains controversial, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are inconsistently reported in malaria. In this observational case-control study, we investigated the prevalence and risk factors for GI symptoms in hospitalized malarious children aged 1 month to 5 years in northern Uganda. Children with a diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria were enrolled as cases, and feverish children in whom malaria was excluded were enrolled as controls. Among 451 malarious children, 46.1% had GI symptoms at admission. Compared with controls, the frequency of diarrhea (24.8% versus 11.2%, P < 0.001) and vomiting (35.5% versus 17.5%, P < 0.001) was significantly higher in children with malaria, who had a higher chance of showing either vomiting (odds ratio [OR]: 3.22; 95% CI: 2.14-4.91) or diarrhea (OR: 3.14; 95% CI: 1.99-5.07) at hospital admission. A subgroup analysis performed in children with severe malaria, severe anemia, or high-grade fever confirmed these results. Diarrhea was more frequent in infants and children younger than 3 years than in older children. The analysis of 71 malarious c...
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research