CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND LABORATORY FINDINGS OF CEREBRAL MALARIA IN A GROUP OF CHILDREN IN YAOUNDE, CAMEROON

Cerebral malaria is one of the major and deadly complications of malaria. In Cameroon, recent reports indicate that severe cases of malaria are increasingly more prevalent, particularly in children. The present study aims at describing the clinical presentation and laboratory findings of cerebral malaria in children in Yaounde. All patients admitted in the paediatric ward of Yaounde Central Hospital with malaria, who presented neurological signs and were tested positive for Plasmodium in their peripheral blood were recruited into the study. 36 cases were enrolled in all, making up 2.7% of all admissions. The patients' median age was 4.5 years. 52.8% were on malaria prophylaxis. Convulsions and coma with preceding hyperthermia were present in more than 90% of the patients. Blood paramsites level median was 1.3% on admission. One patient had hypoglycaemia on admission and two others had it later on after admission; 16.7% had neurological sequels at discharge and two children died (5.6%). Delay in diagnosis and initiation of treatment with quinine adversely affected the prognosis of cerebral malaria in the study group.