The following are the most important diseases or complications that may be contributed to by malaria:
Respiratory system (J00-J99)
- Pulmonary involvement, unspecified
Blood, hematopoietic organs – immune system (D50-D90).
- Hemolytic anemia – form of anemia caused by the destruction of erythrocytes (red blood cells).
- Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) – severe disease caused by excessive activation of blood clotting, leading to consumption of clotting factors and platelets (blood clots).
Cardiovascular system (I00-I99)
- Circulatory collapse
Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).
- Cerebral malaria – occurring in approximately1% of patients with P. falciparium malaria – mainly in children in sub-Saharan Africa; symptomatology: headache with general malaise; in children often accompanied by characteristic changes in the retina (so-called malariaretinopathy); furthermore, neurological focal symptoms such as paralysis and seizures, as well as coma; death by respiratory arrest usually takes only 24 hours; despite treatment, about 15-20% of patients die; most fatalities are children under five years.
Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).
- Burkitt’s lymphoma – malignant (malignant) lymphoma whose formation is associated with Epstein-Barr virus and is classified as B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; constant stimulation of the immune system associated with repeated malaria infections explains the incidence of Burkitt’s lymphoma in Africa
Symptoms and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99).
- Multi-organ failure (MODS, multi-organ dysfunction syndrome; MOF: multi-organ failure) – simultaneous or sequential failure or severe functional impairment of various vital organ systems of the body (applies to untreated malaria tropica).
Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – sex organs) (N00-N99).
- Acute renal failure (ANV)
- Priapism – erection lasting > 4 h without sexual stimulation; 95% of cases ischemic or low-flow priapism (LFP), which is very painful; LFP can lead to irreversible erectile dysfunction after only 4 h; therapy: blood aspiration and possibly intracavernosal (i.c.) sympathomimetic injection; “high-flow” priapism (HFP) requires no immediate measures
Prognostic factors
- Hyperparasitemia (≥ 4% of erythrocytes (red blood cells) infested with plasmodia).
- Hypoglycemia (BG < 40 mg/dl or < 2.22 mmol/l).
- Severe anemia (anemia: Hb < 6 g/dl).
- Hemoglobinuria (excretion of hemoglobin (the red blood pigment) by the kidneys ; without known glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency).
- Acidosis (base excess > -8 mmol/l).
- Hyperkalemia (potassium excess > 5.5 mmol/l)
- Renal insufficiency (kidney weakness):
- Excretion < 400 ml/24 hrs and/or
- Creatinine > 2.5 mg/dl or rapidly increasing creatinine levels during the course of the disease
- Clouding of consciousness, cerebral seizure (Cave. cerebral malaria).
- Respiratory insufficiency (disorder of breathing), irregular breathing, hypoxia (oxygen deficiency).
- Spontaneous hemorrhage
- Shock symptomatology
