Lack of mortality in 22 children with sickle cell anemia and severe malarial anemia |
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| Authors: | Robert O. Opoka Paul Bangirana Richard Idro Estela Shabani Ruth Namazzi Chandy C. John |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda;2. Department of Psychiatry, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda;3. Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease and Global Health, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana;4. Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minnesota |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Retrospective studies suggest that there is high mortality in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and severe malaria. We assessed mortality in Ugandan children with severe malarial anemia (SMA, n = 232) or cerebral malaria (CM, n = 267) by sickle cell hemoglobin genotype. Admission and 2‐year follow‐up mortality did not differ among children with SMA who had homozygous form of sickle cell hemoglobin (HbSS) versus normal form of adult hemoglobin (admission, 0/22, 0%, vs. 1/208, 0.5%; follow‐up, 1/22, 4.5%; 7/207, 3.4%, respectively; all P > 0.6). The single child with CM and HbSS survived. The study findings highlight the need for large prospective studies of malaria‐related mortality in children with SCA. |
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| Keywords: | mortality severe malaria sickle cell disease |
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