Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveals Different Courses of Disease in Pediatric and Adult Cerebral Malaria.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral malaria is a common presentation of severe Plasmodium falciparum infection and remains an important cause of death in the tropics. Key aspects of its pathogenesis are still incompletely understood, but severe brain swelling identified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was associated with a fatal outcome in African children. In contrast, neuroimaging investigations failed to identify cerebral features associated with fatality in Asian adults. METHODS: Quantitative MRI with brain volume assessment and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analyses were performed for the first time in 65 patients with cerebral malaria to compare disease signatures between children and adults from the same cohort, as well as between fatal and nonfatal cases. RESULTS: We found an age-dependent decrease in brain swelling during acute cerebral malaria, and brain volumes did not differ between fatal and nonfatal cases across both age groups. In nonfatal disease, reversible, hypoxia-induced cytotoxic edema occurred predominantly in the white matter in children, and in the basal ganglia in adults. In fatal cases, quantitative ADC histogram analyses also demonstrated different end-stage patterns between adults and children: Severe hypoxia, evidenced by global ADC decrease and elevated plasma levels of lipocalin-2 and microRNA-150, was associated with a fatal outcome in adults. In fatal pediatric disease, our results corroborate an increase in brain volume, leading to augmented cerebral pressure, brainstem herniation, and death. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest distinct pathogenic patterns in pediatric and adult cerebral malaria with a stronger cytotoxic component in adults, supporting the development of age-specific adjunct therapies.

Fluid resuscitation of adults with severe falciparum malaria: effects on Acid-base status, renal function, and extravascular lung water.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of liberal fluid resuscitation of adults with severe malaria. DESIGN, SETTING, PATIENTS, AND METHODS: Twenty-eight Bangladeshi and Indian adults with severe falciparum malaria received crystalloid resuscitation guided by transpulmonary thermodilution (PiCCO) in an intensive care setting. Systemic hemodynamics, microvascular indices and measures of acidosis, renal function, and pulmonary edema were followed prospectively. RESULTS: All patients were hypovolemic (global end-diastolic volume index<680 mL/m) on enrollment. Patients received a median (range) 3230 mL (390-7300) of isotonic saline in the first 6 hours and 5450 mL (710-13,720) in the first 24 hours. With resuscitation, acid-base status deteriorated in 19 of 28 (68%), and there was no significant improvement in renal function. Extravascular lung water increased in 17 of 22 liberally resuscitated patients (77%); eight of these patients developed pulmonary edema, five of whom died. All other patients survived. All patients with pulmonary edema during the study were hypovolemic or euvolemic at the time pulmonary edema developed. Plasma lactate was lower in hypovolemic patients before (rs=0.38; p=0.05) and after (rs=0.49; p=0.01) resuscitation but was the strongest predictor of mortality before (chi-square=9.9; p=0.002) and after resuscitation (chi-square=11.1; p<0.001) and correlated with the degree of visualized microvascular sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes at both time points (rs=0.55; p=0.003 and rs=0.43; p=0.03, respectively). Persisting sequestration was evident in 7 of 15 patients (47%) 48 hours after enrollment. CONCLUSIONS: Lactic acidosis--the strongest prognostic indicator in adults with severe falciparum malaria--results from sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes in the microcirculation, not from hypovolemia. Liberal fluid resuscitation has little effect on this sequestration and does not improve acid-base status or renal function. Pulmonary edema--secondary to increased pulmonary vascular permeability--is common, unpredictable, and exacerbated by fluid loading. Liberal fluid replacement of adults with severe malaria should be avoided.

The reliability of the physical examination to guide fluid therapy in adults with severe falciparum malaria: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Adults with severe malaria frequently require intravenous fluid therapy to restore their circulating volume. However, fluid must be delivered judiciously as both under- and over-hydration increase the risk of complications and, potentially, death. As most patients will be cared for in a resource-poor setting, management guidelines necessarily recommend that physical examination should guide fluid resuscitation. However, the reliability of this strategy is uncertain. METHODS: To determine the ability of physical examination to identify hypovolaemia, volume responsiveness, and pulmonary oedema, clinical signs and invasive measures of volume status were collected independently during an observational study of 28 adults with severe malaria. RESULTS: The physical examination defined volume status poorly. Jugular venous pressure (JVP) did not correlate with intravascular volume as determined by global end diastolic volume index (GEDVI; r(s) = 0.07, p = 0.19), neither did dry mucous membranes (p = 0.85), or dry axillae (p = 0.09). GEDVI was actually higher in patients with decreased tissue turgor (p < 0.001). Poor capillary return correlated with GEDVI, but was present infrequently (7% of observations) and, therefore, insensitive. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) correlated with GEDVI (rs = 0.16, p = 0.002), but even before resuscitation patients with a low GEDVI had a preserved MAP. Anuria on admission was unrelated to GEDVI and although liberal fluid resuscitation led to a median hourly urine output of 100 ml in 19 patients who were not anuric on admission, four (21%) developed clinical pulmonary oedema subsequently. MAP was unrelated to volume responsiveness (p = 0.71), while a low JVP, dry mucous membranes, dry axillae, increased tissue turgor, prolonged capillary refill, and tachycardia all had a positive predictive value for volume responsiveness of ≤50%. Extravascular lung water ≥11 ml/kg indicating pulmonary oedema was present on 99 of the 353 times that it was assessed during the study, but was identified on less than half these occasions by tachypnoea, chest auscultation, or an elevated JVP. A clear chest on auscultation and a respiratory rate <30 breaths/minute could exclude pulmonary oedema on 82% and 72% of occasions respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Findings on physical examination correlate poorly with true volume status in adults with severe malaria and must be used with caution to guide fluid therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00692627.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cerebral Malaria Patients Reveals Distinct Pathogenetic Processes in Different Parts of the Brain.

The mechanisms underlying the rapidly reversible brain swelling described in patients with cerebral malaria (CM) are unknown. Using a 1.5-Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, we undertook an observational study in Rourkela, India, of 11 Indian patients hospitalized with CM and increased brain volume. Among the 11 cases, there were 5 adults and 6 children. All patients had reduced consciousness and various degrees of cortical swelling at baseline. The latter was predominately posterior in distribution. The findings on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were consistent with vasogenic edema in all cases. Reversibility after 48 to 72 h was observed in >90% of cases. DWI/ADC mismatch suggested the additional presence of cytotoxic edema in the basal nuclei of 5 patients; all of these had perfusion parameters consistent with vascular engorgement and not with ischemic infarcts. Our results suggest that an impairment of the blood-brain barrier is responsible for the brain swelling in CM. In 5 cases, vasogenic edema occurred in conjunction with changes in the basal nuclei consistent with venous congestion, likely to be caused by the sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. While both mechanisms have been individually postulated to play an important role in the development of CM, this is the first demonstration of their concurrent involvement in different parts of the brain. The clinical and radiological characteristics observed in the majority of our patients are consistent with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), and we show for the first time a high frequency of PRES in the context of CM. IMPORTANCE The pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms underlying cerebral malaria (CM) are still poorly understood. Recent neuroimaging studies demonstrated that brain swelling is a common feature in CM and a major contributor to death in pediatric patients. Consequently, determining the precise mechanisms responsible for this swelling could open new adjunct therapeutic avenues in CM patients. Using an MRI scanner with a higher resolution than the ones used in previous reports, we identified two distinct origins of brain swelling in both adult and pediatric patients from India, occurring in distinct parts of the brain. Our results support the hypothesis that both endothelial dysfunction and microvascular obstruction by Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes make independent contributions to the pathogenesis of CM, providing opportunities for novel therapeutic interventions.

Rhabdomyolysis in falciparum malaria--a series of twelve cases (five children and seven adults).

There are very few reports in the literature of rhabdomyolysis in falciparum malaria and they mostly consist of single case studies. A report from Sri Lanka described a single patient with myoglobinuria and skeletal muscle necrosis. Taylor and Prosser reported a single case of rhabdomyolysis with renal failure. We report on 12 patients with evidence of skeletal muscle injury in severe malaria from Rourkela, Orissa State, India.

Malaria associated acute renal failure--experience from Rourkela, eastern India.

Acute renal failure is a significant complication of falciparum malaria and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. It occurs rarely in children and is seen frequently among the adults. Malaria associated renal failure may occur as a sole complication or as a component of multiple complications. Some of the patients may have normal urination (non-oliguric) and usually have better prognosis even without renal replacement therapy. Only a few research studies are available from Indian subcontinent on malarial acute renal failure. The present study is a hospital based study from eastern India. Rourkela is situated in the western part of Orissa which contributes a large number of falciparum malaria cases. The study was conducted at the internal medicine department of Ispat General Hospital. The clinical presentation of malaria patients in 2001 were analysed with special emphasis on malarial acute renal failure. The difference between patients with or without renal failure was compared. Seven hundred eighteen patients admitted to Ispat General Hospital in 2001 above the age of 14 years were analysed. Of these, 84 (11.8%) had serum creatinine >3 mg/dl. Seventy-five patients were referred from different hospitals outside the township. The presenting complaints were fever (95%), oliguria (55%); loose motions (25%), and vomiting (51%). Headache was present in only 20% patients. Similarly, hypotension was encountered in about a third. Associated complications were significantly more common among patients having renal failure viz, Jaundice (77 versus 19%; p < 0.001), Cerebral malaria (59 versus 11%; p < 0.001), and hypoglycaemia (p < 0.05). The mortality in presence of acute renal failure was high (p < 0.001). Though malaria renal failure is a burning issue, still scant data is available in the literature, including India. The present study is an attempt to study the patients admitted to a referral hospital. The reason for high mortality is due to presence of multiple complications. The present study indicates that the presence of acute renal failure and jaundice together adversely influences the mortality. Hence, studies may be carried out to find out the reason of this changing trend as well as the methods to ameliorate/manage the situation.