4 Malaria Flashcards
What causes malignant malaria?
Plasmodium falciparum (parasite carried by mosquitos)
What are three of the biggest manifestations with severe malaria?
Impaired consciousness (cerebral), respiratory distress (acidosis), and anemia
Severe malaria rarely occurs in who?
Sickle cell trait children and immune adults in endemic areas
What is shizonomy?
The development of the parasite in the RBC
How does P. falciparum cause cytoadherence in RBCs?
It creates little protein knobs on the cell surface which sticks to the endothelium of the vessel
What does the malaria parasite cause in RBCs?
Knobs appear on the cell surface to cause cytoadherence
Once cytoadherence occurs, what happens to the RBC next?
The parasite lyses the RBC and spreads through blood stream
P. falciparum likes blood found in which area of the circulation?
Post-capillary venues because the blood is more acidic and has higher CO2 level
Malaria presents kind of like septic shock, except malaria is driven by what?
sequestration of parasite, instead of cytokines like in sepsis.
Can benign malaria Pts be sent home?
Yes, but not malignant
