TO FIND OUT THE FREQUENCY OF MALARIA (FALCIPARUM AND VIVAX MALARIA) IN FEBRILE CHILDREN REPORTING TO PEDIATRIC UNIT AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL & TO EVALUATE THE SEVERITY IN CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM MALARIA (FALCIPARUM AND VIVAX)

Objectives: 1. The frequency of malaria (falciparum and vivax malaria) in febrile children reporting to pediatric unit at tertiary care hospital. 2. To evaluate the severity in children suffering from malaria Subject & Methods : Study was conducted in Pediatric Medicine Department of Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad, total duration was 6 months from May to November 2011. Study was descriptive case series. 205 febrile patients were selected for the study aft er taken consent. Data were collected on a structured proforma. Detailed history, examination and investigations were done. Results: Within 205 patients a total of 112 (54.63%) were males and 93 (45.37%) were females. Malarial parasites were present in 19 (9.3%) out of 205 patients. Plasmodium falciparum was seen in 12 (63.1%) of cases, whereas P. vivax was noted to be present in 7 (36.8%) patients. Severe malaria was present in 8 (42.1%) patients. Fits were seen in 6 (31.57%), jaundice in 2 (10.5%), respi ratory distress were in 3 (15.7%), 5 patients (26.3%) were brought in an unconscious state to the hospital, hemoglobin <5 g/dl was seen in 19 (100%) patients and hypoglycemia (RBS <40 mg/dl) was seen in 3 (15.7%) patients out of 19 respectively. Chi square (or Fischer's exact Test) were applied to see the relationship of severe malaria (the main outcome variable) with other variables of study such as age, gender, fits, jaundice, respiratory distress, unconsciousness, low hemoglobin and hypoglycemia respecti vely. P value of <0.005 was considered to be statistically significant. The presence of severe malaria correlated with the severe Anemia (p 0.000), fits and unconsciousness were significant findings. Conclusion: In this study it was noted that malaria pres ents with various varied clinical presentations, but severe anemia, fits and unconsciousness have statistically significant associations with severe malaria.