Baseline characteristics of 143 patients with malaria and healthy control patients from Papua
| . | Control patients (n = 24) . | P falciparum (n = 55) . | P vivax (n = 38) . | P malariae (n = 14) . | Mixed infection (n = 12)* . | Kruskal-Wallis test P value . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | 28 (26-33.8) | 29 (19-37) | 24 (19-32.8) | 33.5 (26-47) | 22 (19.3-33) | .027 |
| Males, n (%) | 10 (42%) | 29 (53%) | 23 (61%) | 4 (29%) | 7 (58%) | — |
| Ethnicity, Highland/Lowland/non-Papuan, n | 12/11/1 | 50/2/3 | 33/3/2 | 14/0/0 | 12/0/0 | — |
| Number with severe malaria† | — | 8 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Parasitemia, parasites/µL | Not detected by microscopy | 15 600 (3660-105 000)‡ | 6160 (2120-11 400) | 1230 (815-2540) | 7160 (4590-106 000) | <.0001 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 12.3 (11.5-14.6) | 12.4 (10.2-13.4) | 11.9 (10.5-13.1) | 9.6** (8.6-10.6) | 11.7 (8.8-13.3) | .0007 |
| WBC count, ×1000/µL | 7.4 (6.2-8.2) | 5.1** (3.7-6.6) | 5.5 (4.8-7.5) | 4.2** (3.2-5.1) | 5.8 (4.4-7.2) | <.0001 |
| Monocyte count, ×1000/µL | 0.45 (0.42-0.55) | 0.53 (0.30-0.77) | 0.54 (0.40-0.67) | 0.54 (0.37-0.68) | 0.51 (0.20-0.66) | .780 |
| Neutrophil count, ×1000/µL | 3.5 (2.5-4.4) | 2.8 (2.0-4.8) | 3.8 (2.8-4.3) | 1.6* (1.5-2.4) | 3.9 (2.6-4.8) | .0006 |
| Platelet count, ×1000/µL | 202 (171-228) | 66** (39-99)¶ | 78** (53-113) | 80** (56-101) | 60** (44-120) | <.0001 |
| . | Control patients (n = 24) . | P falciparum (n = 55) . | P vivax (n = 38) . | P malariae (n = 14) . | Mixed infection (n = 12)* . | Kruskal-Wallis test P value . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | 28 (26-33.8) | 29 (19-37) | 24 (19-32.8) | 33.5 (26-47) | 22 (19.3-33) | .027 |
| Males, n (%) | 10 (42%) | 29 (53%) | 23 (61%) | 4 (29%) | 7 (58%) | — |
| Ethnicity, Highland/Lowland/non-Papuan, n | 12/11/1 | 50/2/3 | 33/3/2 | 14/0/0 | 12/0/0 | — |
| Number with severe malaria† | — | 8 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Parasitemia, parasites/µL | Not detected by microscopy | 15 600 (3660-105 000)‡ | 6160 (2120-11 400) | 1230 (815-2540) | 7160 (4590-106 000) | <.0001 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 12.3 (11.5-14.6) | 12.4 (10.2-13.4) | 11.9 (10.5-13.1) | 9.6** (8.6-10.6) | 11.7 (8.8-13.3) | .0007 |
| WBC count, ×1000/µL | 7.4 (6.2-8.2) | 5.1** (3.7-6.6) | 5.5 (4.8-7.5) | 4.2** (3.2-5.1) | 5.8 (4.4-7.2) | <.0001 |
| Monocyte count, ×1000/µL | 0.45 (0.42-0.55) | 0.53 (0.30-0.77) | 0.54 (0.40-0.67) | 0.54 (0.37-0.68) | 0.51 (0.20-0.66) | .780 |
| Neutrophil count, ×1000/µL | 3.5 (2.5-4.4) | 2.8 (2.0-4.8) | 3.8 (2.8-4.3) | 1.6* (1.5-2.4) | 3.9 (2.6-4.8) | .0006 |
| Platelet count, ×1000/µL | 202 (171-228) | 66** (39-99)¶ | 78** (53-113) | 80** (56-101) | 60** (44-120) | <.0001 |
All values are median (interquartile range) unless otherwise indicated. Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn’s multiple comparisons test, significantly different from control patients (**P < .0005; *P < .005).
Mixed infection of P falciparum and P vivax.
Severe malaria criteria encountered: cerebral malaria (Glasgow Coma Score ≤10 for >30 minutes), jaundice (visible jaundice OR creatinine >1.5 mg/dL OR bilirubin >3 mg/dL AND >100 000 parasites/µL), acute renal failure (creatinine >3 mg/dL ± urine output <400 mL/day OR urea >20 mM), hypoglycemia (plasma glucose <40 mg/dL), hyperparasitemia (asexual parasitemia >10%), hypotension (blood pressure <80 mm Hg AND cool peripheries), and respiratory distress (respiratory rate >30/minute AND O2 saturation <92%).
Median parasitemia in severe (283 000 parasites/µL) vs nonsevere P falciparum (10 800 parasites/µL; Mann-Whitney test P = .0009).
Median platelet count in severe (18 500/µL) vs nonsevere P falciparum (74 000/µL; Mann-Whitney test P < .0001).