Hypoarginaemia among Pre- School Children of African Descent with Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria

Malaria is a public health problem particularly in the tropical areas of the world affecting about 247 million people each year and often resulting in nearly a million deaths. It is the leading cause of under-five hospital admission in endemic countries. L-Arginine is a precursor for nitric oxide synthesis. In this study, the level of l-arginine was investigated among pre-school children with malaria presenting to the Pediatric Outpatient Department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto, Nigeria. A total of 90 pre- school children with malaria aged 3-5 year with mean age of 4.01 ± 0.87 and 50 non- parasitized age and gender- matched pre-school non-hospitalized children (control) were recruited for this study. There was a statistical significance difference in the serum L-arginine level among children with malaria compared to non-parasitized children (p= 0.001). There was a statistical significance difference in serum L-arginine level of children with severe malaria compare to uncomplicated malaria children (p= 0.000). There were no age and gender -related differences in the serum L-arginine levels among pre-school children with malaria (p=0.11 and 0.93 respectively). There was no significance difference in the serum L-arginine level of the malaria parasitized children based on ethnicity (p=0.59). This study shows that P. falciparum malaria is associated with hypoarginaemia among preschool children of African descent. It is recommended serum L-arginine level be determined for malaria parasitized children. It may be necessary to routinely provide L-arginine supplements early during malaria infection as an adjuvant therapy with chemotherapeutic agents against malaria.