FRANKLIN A. NEVA, M.D.; JOHN N. SHEAGREN, M.D.; N. RAPHAEL SHULMAN, M.D.; CRAIG J. CANFIELD
The importance of specific diagnosis needs emphasis in relation to the increased prevalence of malaria at civilian medical facilities in the United States. In considering host-defense mechanisms the most striking feature of malaria is generalized stimulation of the reticuloendothelial system, including synthesis of humoral antibody. The activity of various components of the defense system may be responsible for some characteristic features of malaria as well as for certain complications. For example, the temporal relationship of maximum parasitemia, first appearance of humoral antibody, and transient fall in complement all suggest that the concomitant thrombocytopenia may be related to some immunologic mechanism. In less severe forms of simian or human malaria no evidence for a process of disseminated intravascular coagulation was found. Two case reports illustrate the complications of severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria—namely renal failure, cerebral malaria, and pulmonary edema or hemorrhage. The present status of chemotherapy of falciparum infections is reviewed.
NEVA FA, SHEAGREN JN, SHULMAN NR, CANFIELD CJ. Malaria: Host-Defense Mechanisms and Complications. Ann Intern Med. 1970;73:295–306. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-73-2-295
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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1970;73(2):295-306.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-73-2-295