TY - JOUR
T1 - Fever in patients with mixed-species malaria
AU - McKenzie, F. Ellis
AU - Smith, David L.
AU - O'Maara, Wendy P.
AU - Fornay, J. Russ
AU - Magill, Alan J.
AU - Permpanich, Barnyen
AU - Erhart, Laura M.
AU - Sirichaisinthop, Jeeraphat
AU - Wongsrichanalai, Chansuda
AU - Gasser, Robert A.
PY - 2006/6/15
Y1 - 2006/6/15
N2 - Background. Clinical symptoms of mixed-species malaria infections have been variously reported as both less severe and more severe than those of single-species infections. Methods. Oral temperatures were taken from and blood slides were prepared for 2308 adults who presented at outpatient malaria clinics in Tak Province (Thailand) during May-August 1998, May-July 1999, and May-June 2001 with malaria infections diagnosed by 2 expert research microscopists, each of whom was blinded to the other's reports. Results. In each year, temperatures of patients with mixed Plasmodium vivax-Plasmodium falciparum infections were higher than temperatures of patients with P. vivax or P. falciparum infections. In every mixed-species case, P. falciparum parasitemia was higher than P. vivax parasitemia, but patient temperature was not correlated with the parasitemia of either species or with the total parasitemia. Conclusions. Among adults who self-report to malaria clinics in western Thailand, patients with mixed P. vivax-P. falciparum infections have higher fevers than patients with single-species infections, a distinction that cannot be attributed to differences in parasitemia. This observation warrants more detailed investigations, spanning wider ranges of ages and transmission environments.
AB - Background. Clinical symptoms of mixed-species malaria infections have been variously reported as both less severe and more severe than those of single-species infections. Methods. Oral temperatures were taken from and blood slides were prepared for 2308 adults who presented at outpatient malaria clinics in Tak Province (Thailand) during May-August 1998, May-July 1999, and May-June 2001 with malaria infections diagnosed by 2 expert research microscopists, each of whom was blinded to the other's reports. Results. In each year, temperatures of patients with mixed Plasmodium vivax-Plasmodium falciparum infections were higher than temperatures of patients with P. vivax or P. falciparum infections. In every mixed-species case, P. falciparum parasitemia was higher than P. vivax parasitemia, but patient temperature was not correlated with the parasitemia of either species or with the total parasitemia. Conclusions. Among adults who self-report to malaria clinics in western Thailand, patients with mixed P. vivax-P. falciparum infections have higher fevers than patients with single-species infections, a distinction that cannot be attributed to differences in parasitemia. This observation warrants more detailed investigations, spanning wider ranges of ages and transmission environments.
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U2 - 10.1086/504330
DO - 10.1086/504330
M3 - Article
C2 - 16705577
AN - SCOPUS:33744806864
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 42
SP - 1713
EP - 1718
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 12
ER -