Nosocomial Malaria Infection in Admitted Patients At Lagos University Teaching Hospital-A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The frequency of acquisition of malaria parasites was studied in children admitted into the children's Emergency Room and the paediatric in-patient wards of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital who had no malaria parasitaemia at the time of admission. At admission, two hundred and thirty five of three hundred and ninety five children aged 6month and above, admitted for various conditions over a three and a half months period, who were found positive for malaria parasite on thick and thin blood films at admission were excluded. Of the remaining 152 children who had been on blood parasitaemia 23 were also excluded as they had been on admission for one week or less. Among the remaining 130 children, 112 had become infected with malaria parasite after 7 days and were also excluded. Positive blood parasitemia were determined in 12 of the remaining 18 children between 14 and 21 days of admission. It was concluded that nosocomial malaria is common and thus efforts should be directed towards vector control. Where this is not feasible due to infrastructural constraints, empirical treatment with chloroquine may be worthwhile when a child has been on admission for more than 14 days.


(J. of the Nigerian Association of Infection Control, 2000, 3(1): 16-19)