Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum

An unusual case of malaria presented with gastroenteritis and bloody diarrhoea in a 46-year-old male. The patient was a non-Saudi resident of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Fever was not the presenting complaint, and the patient had not experienced any chills or sweating. He gave history of recent travel to...

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Main Authors: Waleed Mohammad Hussain, Syed Zahid Bukhari, Mohammad Ibrahim Fatani, Talal Mohammad Karima, Tariq Ahmed Madani, Samar Badreddine
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2009-03-01
Series:Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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Online Access:https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/58
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author Waleed Mohammad Hussain
Syed Zahid Bukhari
Mohammad Ibrahim Fatani
Talal Mohammad Karima
Tariq Ahmed Madani
Samar Badreddine
author_facet Waleed Mohammad Hussain
Syed Zahid Bukhari
Mohammad Ibrahim Fatani
Talal Mohammad Karima
Tariq Ahmed Madani
Samar Badreddine
author_sort Waleed Mohammad Hussain
collection DOAJ
description An unusual case of malaria presented with gastroenteritis and bloody diarrhoea in a 46-year-old male. The patient was a non-Saudi resident of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Fever was not the presenting complaint, and the patient had not experienced any chills or sweating. He gave history of recent travel to Pakistan. Initial laboratory investigations showed anemia, thrombocytopenia, normal liver function, and negative blood film for malaria. His widal, Brucella, and dengue serology was negative. Endoscopic examination showed gastroenteritis. On the fifth day of admission, a sexual form of Plasmodium falciparum on peripheral smear was reported by chance. Malaria was misdiagnosed because of initial negative blood film which may have been due to false microscopy or a long period between exposures and positive blood film. We concluded that a repeat blood film for malaria at 12- to 24-hour intervals for 48 to 72 hours is cost effective when a patient has recently travelled to an endemic area.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1972-2680
language English
publishDate 2009-03-01
publisher The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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series Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
spelling doaj-art-09420f12ef2c42a0bde2abfbd1d7e3ca2025-08-20T03:48:58ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802009-03-0130210.3855/jidc.58Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparumWaleed Mohammad Hussain0Syed Zahid Bukhari1Mohammad Ibrahim Fatani2Talal Mohammad Karima3Tariq Ahmed Madani4Samar Badreddine5Department of Internal Medicine, Hera General Hospital, MakkahDepartment of Microbiology, Hera General Hospital, MakkahDepartment of Dermatology, Hera General Hospital, MakkahDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hera General Hospital, MakkahDepartment of Internal Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital JeddahDepartment of Infectious Diseases, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, JeddahAn unusual case of malaria presented with gastroenteritis and bloody diarrhoea in a 46-year-old male. The patient was a non-Saudi resident of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Fever was not the presenting complaint, and the patient had not experienced any chills or sweating. He gave history of recent travel to Pakistan. Initial laboratory investigations showed anemia, thrombocytopenia, normal liver function, and negative blood film for malaria. His widal, Brucella, and dengue serology was negative. Endoscopic examination showed gastroenteritis. On the fifth day of admission, a sexual form of Plasmodium falciparum on peripheral smear was reported by chance. Malaria was misdiagnosed because of initial negative blood film which may have been due to false microscopy or a long period between exposures and positive blood film. We concluded that a repeat blood film for malaria at 12- to 24-hour intervals for 48 to 72 hours is cost effective when a patient has recently travelled to an endemic area.https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/58title
spellingShingle Waleed Mohammad Hussain
Syed Zahid Bukhari
Mohammad Ibrahim Fatani
Talal Mohammad Karima
Tariq Ahmed Madani
Samar Badreddine
Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
title
title Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum
title_full Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum
title_fullStr Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum
title_full_unstemmed Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum
title_short Misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum
title_sort misdiagnosis of an imported case of malaria caused by plasmodium falciparum
topic title
url https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/58
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