Characteristics and mortality factors of severe malaria in children and teenager aged from 5 to 15 years in Thiès region, Senegal.

OBJECTIVES

Severe malaria remains a major cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the characteristics and mortality of severe malaria in children and adolescents in Thiès, Senegal.

METHODS

Retrospective multicenter study in four multicenter referral hospitals (July 2019-June 2024), including children aged 5 to 15 hospitalized for confirmed severe malaria, defined by a positive rapid diagnostic test and/or thick blood smear, along with at least one World Health Organization (WHO) criterion (2015). Analyses used R software.

RESULTS

We recorded 109 cases. Mean age 9.56 ± 2.87 years (5-15); sex ratio 1.95. Most patients (60%) originated from rural areas, with admissions mainly in the post-rainy season, especially in October (36.7%) and November (22.9%). Frequent signs included prostration (27%), convulsions (21.10%), coma (17.43%), alongside severe anemia (33%) and thrombocytopenia (61.62%). All patients tested positive on rapid diagnostic tests; among the 46 thick blood smear tests, 97.8% were positive. Injectable artesunate was first-line, followed by artemisinin-based combination therapy (82%); antibiotics were used in 50.46%. Outcomes were favorable in 90%, with 5.5% sequelae and 4.5% mortality. Mortality was significantly associated with respiratory distress and ≥2 WHO severity criteria.

CONCLUSIONS

The associated lethality and mortality are considerable, with notable neurological and functional sequelae observed.