Estudio descriptivo de los casos de malaria en la población pediátrica en un hospital de referencia de Valencia, España, entre 1993 y 2015
- John Helmut Ramírez Cuentas
- Andrea Urtasun Erburuc
- Mireia Roselló Guijarroc
- Marta Garrido Jareño
- Javier Peman García
- María del Carmen Otero Reigadaa
ISSN: 1695-4033, 1696-4608
Año de publicación: 2020
Volumen: 92
Número: 1
Páginas: 21-27
Tipo: Artículo
Otras publicaciones en: Anales de Pediatría: Publicación Oficial de la Asociación Española de Pediatría ( AEP )
Resumen
Introduction Malaria is considered to be the fourth leading cause of infant mortality after pneumonia, complications related to premature birth, and perinatal asphyxia. Material and methods A retrospective and descriptive study of cases of malaria confirmed and treated by the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit (age lower than 15 years) at the La Fe Hospital, Valencia, over the period 1993 to 2015. Results A total of 54 cases of paediatric malaria were diagnosed in the period 1993-2015, with 51.8% of these occurring in males, and 46.2% of patients were aged below 5 years. The majority of children came from Equatorial Guinea (68.5%). Only 5.6% had received antimalarial prophylaxis. Plasmodium falciparum was found to be the causal species in 81.4% of cases. Seven patients (13%) presented with complicated malaria. The most widely used treatment was quinine, either alone or in combination with other drugs. Atovaquone/proguanil was used from 2010 onwards and was indicated in 20.3% of the patients. The combination of artesunate/piperaquine/dihydroartemisinin began to be used in 2013. No deaths or relevant side effects were reported, and the clinical response was favourable in all children (100%). Conclusions Malaria is still a prevalent disease in this population, a consequence of immigration, and tourism to endemic countries. Malaria should be considered as a likely diagnosis in a febrile child who comes from, or has travelled to, an endemic region in the past year.