title: Cardiac involvement during and after malaria.
abstract: In 22 patients without a previous history of cardiac disease, we prospectively evaluated cardiac involvement during acute malaria and 9 +/- 5 months after recovery using non-invasive methods including resting electrocardiogram (ECG) and two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography. During the acute phase ECG abnormalities were common (5/22); pericardial effusion was found in 2 patients and global left ventricular hypokinesia in 1 patient infected with Plasmodium falciparum. At a follow-up of 19 patients, the resting ECG and echocardiography were normal or had normalized in all patients. The results of our study suggest that persistent cardiac damage following malarial infection seems to be rare; however, further trials in a larger patient population are needed to confirm our findings.
authors.affiliation: Kliniken I und III für Innere Medizin Universität zu Köln.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Franzen
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Curtius
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Heitz
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Höpp
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Diehl
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Hilger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors