MALARIA IN PEDIATRIC AGE GROUP: A STUDY OF 200 CASES

Abstract

and resistance to various drugs in children.

Design: Descriptive observational

Place and duration of study: From 1st April 2002 to 31st March 2004 at Department of Pediatrics, CMH Attock.

Material and methods: Children upto 12 years of age with fever and positive blood smear for malarial parasite (MP). Cases of Plasmodium (P) falciparum malaria were given either Quinine or Artemether and of Plasmodium vivax malaria were given Chloroquine phosphate.

 Results: In 200 children of malaria, male to female ratio was 1:1, 125 (62.5%) cases were of P. vivax, 72(36%) were of P. falciparum, and 3 (1.5%) cases were having mixed infection. All cases of benign tertian malaria responded to Chloroquine.  Fifty cases of P. falciparum received quinine, forty-nine responded, and in one case RIII was noted. In 23 cases of P. falciparum malaria Artemether was given, no resistance was noted.

Conclusion: The clinical presentation of malaria in children is similar to other malarious regions of the world, Artemether and Quinine are the drugs of choice for treating severe malaria caused by P. falciparum. However Artemether is an alternative for the treatment of malaria caused by the parasites with resistance to Quinine.         

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