Background: Severe malarial anaemia is responsible for approximately a third of the deaths associated with severe malaria. In Sokoto, North Western Nigeria where there is increased seasonal transmission of malaria the prevalence of anaemia due to severe malaria in children is yet to be studied.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of children with severe malarial anaemia admitted into the Department of Paediatrics of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, Nigeria.

Methods: This was a 3-year prospective and descriptive observational study from January 2013 to December 2015. Cases were children aged 6 months to 15 years admitted with severe malaria and severe anaemia based on WHO criteria. Relevant information from study proforma data sheets were extracted and analyzed using SPSS version 22.

Results: Of the 3753 children admitted during the study period, 1205 (32.1%) had severe malaria. Whereas 66(1.8%) children with severe malaria had blood transfusion for anaemia, only 38 of them accounting for 1% of the total admissions had severe malaria anaemia (PCV < 15%). The mean age was 3.3 ± 2.9 yrs. Majority (78.9%) were aged 1 to 5 years, and females accounted for 71.1%. All were transfused packed cell blood; median time of transfusion was within 12 hours of admission. Five patients (13.2%) died and mortality was higher in those who had complications of respiratory distress (p = 0.13), hyperparasitemia (p = 0.16), and cerebral malaria (p = 0.004).

Conclusion: Severe malarial anaemia is an important cause of childhood mortality in the study area. Prompt evaluation and early transfusion may reduce mortality.

Keywords: Severe Malaria; Anaemia; Children; Prospective; Study

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Citation

Citation: Jiya NM., et al. “Severe Malarial Anaemia in Children in Sokoto, Nigeria”. Acta Scientific Paediatrics 3.4 (2020): 24-29.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Jiya NM., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.