title: Thrombocytopenia in malaria: its usefulness in a clinical setting. A study from Western Rajasthan, India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the occurrence of thrombocytopaenia in hospitalised patients of malaria and to correlate its severity with the type of malaria in Western Rajasthan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 100 patients with proven malaria were included in this study. Haematological parameters were determined by using an automated analyser. Fifty malaria-free patients were taken as controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the study group of 100 patients; 45 patients had P. vivax malaria, 38 had P. Falciparum malaria and mixed malaria was detected in 17 patients. Out of 100 patients, 89 patients had thrombocytopaenia while out of 50 controls only eight (16%) patients had thrombocytopaenia (P < 0.001). Ninety-one percent of patients with thrombocytopaenia also had anaemia. Thrombocytopaenia was more commonly associated with complicated malaria compared to uncomplicated malaria (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Any patient in a malaria endemic zone presenting with acute febrile illness and having thrombocytopaenia and anaemia should be alerted to the possibility of malarial infection.
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Paediatrics, S.N. Medical College, India.
authors.forename: Anurag
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Junior Resident, Department of Paediatrics, S.N. Medical College, India mgoyalspmc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.affiliation: DNB Neonatology (Fellow), Department of Neonatology, Fernandez Hospital, India.
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008288:Malaria / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000209:etiology*
keywords: Malaria; P. falciparum; P. vivax; anaemia; thrombocytopaenia