High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort
Abstract Background The study aimed to analyse the likelihood of imported malaria in people with a suggestive clinical picture and its distinctive characteristics in a hospital in the south of Madrid, Spain. Methods Observational retrospective study that consisted of a review of all medical files of...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7d6bdb0f3d0a42e99d04999172a22ac8 2023-05-15T15:12:41+02:00 High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort Alejandro Garcia-Ruiz de Morales Covadonga Morcate Elena Isaba-Ares Ramon Perez-Tanoira Jose A. Perez-Molina 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 https://doaj.org/article/7d6bdb0f3d0a42e99d04999172a22ac8 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/7d6bdb0f3d0a42e99d04999172a22ac8 Malaria Journal, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) Fever Diagnosis Malaria Travellers Migrants Spain Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 2022-12-31T11:12:37Z Abstract Background The study aimed to analyse the likelihood of imported malaria in people with a suggestive clinical picture and its distinctive characteristics in a hospital in the south of Madrid, Spain. Methods Observational retrospective study that consisted of a review of all medical files of patients with any malaria test registered at Móstoles University Hospital between April 2013 and April 2018. All suspected malaria cases were confirmed by Plasmodium spp. polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results Of the 328 patients with suspected malaria (53.7% migrant-travellers; 38.7% visitors; 7.6% travellers), 108 cases were confirmed (101 by Plasmodium falciparum), accounting for a 33% positive sample rate. Sixteen cases were diagnosed only by PCR. Patients with malaria, compared to those without, presented predominantly with fever (84% vs. 65%), were older (34 vs. 24 years), sought medical attention earlier (17d vs. 32d), had a greater number of previous malaria episodes (74% vs. 60%), lower levels of platelets (110,500µL vs. 250,000µL), and higher of bilirubin (0.6 mg/dL vs. 0.5 mg/dL). Severe malaria was present in 13 cases; no deaths were recorded. Malaria diagnosis showed a bimodal distribution with two peaks: June to September and November to January. Conclusions Malaria is still a common diagnosis among febrile patients coming from the tropics specially among migrant travellers. Fever, thrombocytopenia, and/or high bilirubin levels should raise suspicion for this parasitic infection. Prompt diagnosis is crucial to avoid severe cases and deaths. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Malaria Journal 20 1 |
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English |
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Fever Diagnosis Malaria Travellers Migrants Spain Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
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Fever Diagnosis Malaria Travellers Migrants Spain Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Alejandro Garcia-Ruiz de Morales Covadonga Morcate Elena Isaba-Ares Ramon Perez-Tanoira Jose A. Perez-Molina High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort |
topic_facet |
Fever Diagnosis Malaria Travellers Migrants Spain Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background The study aimed to analyse the likelihood of imported malaria in people with a suggestive clinical picture and its distinctive characteristics in a hospital in the south of Madrid, Spain. Methods Observational retrospective study that consisted of a review of all medical files of patients with any malaria test registered at Móstoles University Hospital between April 2013 and April 2018. All suspected malaria cases were confirmed by Plasmodium spp. polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results Of the 328 patients with suspected malaria (53.7% migrant-travellers; 38.7% visitors; 7.6% travellers), 108 cases were confirmed (101 by Plasmodium falciparum), accounting for a 33% positive sample rate. Sixteen cases were diagnosed only by PCR. Patients with malaria, compared to those without, presented predominantly with fever (84% vs. 65%), were older (34 vs. 24 years), sought medical attention earlier (17d vs. 32d), had a greater number of previous malaria episodes (74% vs. 60%), lower levels of platelets (110,500µL vs. 250,000µL), and higher of bilirubin (0.6 mg/dL vs. 0.5 mg/dL). Severe malaria was present in 13 cases; no deaths were recorded. Malaria diagnosis showed a bimodal distribution with two peaks: June to September and November to January. Conclusions Malaria is still a common diagnosis among febrile patients coming from the tropics specially among migrant travellers. Fever, thrombocytopenia, and/or high bilirubin levels should raise suspicion for this parasitic infection. Prompt diagnosis is crucial to avoid severe cases and deaths. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alejandro Garcia-Ruiz de Morales Covadonga Morcate Elena Isaba-Ares Ramon Perez-Tanoira Jose A. Perez-Molina |
author_facet |
Alejandro Garcia-Ruiz de Morales Covadonga Morcate Elena Isaba-Ares Ramon Perez-Tanoira Jose A. Perez-Molina |
author_sort |
Alejandro Garcia-Ruiz de Morales |
title |
High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort |
title_short |
High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort |
title_full |
High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort |
title_fullStr |
High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort |
title_full_unstemmed |
High prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort |
title_sort |
high prevalence of malaria in a non-endemic setting among febrile episodes in travellers and migrants coming from endemic areas: a retrospective analysis of a 2013–2018 cohort |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 https://doaj.org/article/7d6bdb0f3d0a42e99d04999172a22ac8 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/7d6bdb0f3d0a42e99d04999172a22ac8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03984-9 |
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Malaria Journal |
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20 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766343343816572928 |