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Volume 21, Number 7—July 2015
Dispatch

Slow Clearance of Plasmodium falciparum in Severe Pediatric Malaria, Uganda, 2011–2013

Michael Hawkes, Andrea L. Conroy, Robert O. Opoka, Sophie Namasopo, Kathleen Zhong, W. Conrad Liles, Chandy C. John, and Kevin C. KainComments to Author 
Author affiliations: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (M. Hawkes); University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (M. Hawkes, A.L. Conroy, K.C. Kain); Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda (R.O. Opoka); Makerere University, Kampala (R. Opoka); Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Jinja, Uganda (S. Namasopo); University Health Network–Toronto General Hospital, Toronto (K. Zhong, K.C. Kain); University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA (W.C. Liles); University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA (C.C. John); Sandra Rotman Centre for Global Health, Toronto (K.C. Kain)

Main Article

Table

Characteristics of children infected with severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites harboring the Kelch 13 A578S polymorphism compared with children infected with wild-type parasites, Uganda

Characteristic A578S mutation, n = 3 Wild-type parasite, n = 75 p value
Parasite clearance time, median (interquartile range), h 80 (71–200) 45 (40–64)* 0.033
Clearance half-life, median, (interquartile range), h 5.9 (5.6–10.7) 4.5 (3.6–5.8)* 0.074
Prior artemisinin exposure, no. (%) 1 (33.3) 19 (25.3) 1.000
Deaths, no. (%) 0 8 (10.7) 1.000
Recrudescence or reinfection 0 0 1.000

*For 7 patients who died, parasite clearance time could not be calculated because of incomplete parasite clearance prior to death. For these same 7 children, the parasite clearance half-time (t1/2) could not be calculated because of insufficient data points. For 1 child who died, clearance of parasitemia before death was documented; thus, the parasite clearance time and t1/2 could be computed. Estimates of parasite clearance time and clearance t1/2 are based on the remaining 68 patients. All fatal cases were associated with wild-type parasites.

Main Article

Page created: June 16, 2015
Page updated: June 16, 2015
Page reviewed: June 16, 2015
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