TITLE:
Interest of Procalcitonin Measurement in Children with Cerebral Malaria in Southern Benin
AUTHORS:
Gilles Bognon, Elsa Topanou, Caroline Padonou, Florence Alihonou, Nadine Feliho, Gratien Sagbo, André Bigot
KEYWORDS:
Procalcitonin Cerebral Malaria, Cerebral Malaria Case Fatality Rate
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.12 No.1,
March
24,
2022
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Cerebral malaria is a major complication of the Plasmodium
falciparum infection with a high case fatality rate. The objective of this
study was to determine the relationship between cerebral malaria and high serum
procalcitonin (PCT) level in children. Method: This was a prospective
descriptive and analytical cohort study conducted over 12 months, on a series
of PCT blood tests in children aged 6 months to 15 years old hospitalized for
cerebral malaria in the pediatric wards of four hospitals in southern Benin.
The cerebral malaria diagnosis was done based on WHO criteria. Blood samples
for PCT measurement were collected on admission, 24 hours and 48 hours after
the malaria therapy initiation. Student’s test, Pearson’s chi2 test,
Fisher’s test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used where appropriate. For all
comparisons the difference was significant when p was less than 5%. Results: Sixty-five children were included in the study with a sex ratio of 1.41.
The age group of children under 5 years was the most represented, at 57%. PCT
levels were high in 92.3% of children at admission, 90.8%
at 24 hours and 84.6% at 48 hours. Forty-nine children had a positive
clinical outcome while 16 died (24.6%). PCT levels were generally high over the
three days of hospitalization, but higher at admission in case of death (p =
0.000). The association between PCT level and parasitemia at admission was
significant (p = 0.04). Conclusion: In the view of the results, blood
PCT level measured at admission could be predictive of the disease outcome in
children with cerebral malaria.