Artesunate-induced hemolysis in severe complicated malaria – A diagnostic challenge: A case report and literature review of anemia in malaria
Sundus Sardar,
Mohammed Abdurabu,
Ahmed Abdelhadi,
Mhd Baraa Habib,
Muhammad Bilal Jamshaid,
Adnan Humam Hajjar,
Munir Abu Ageila,
Tasnim Abdalla,
Anand Kartha,
Khalid Farooqui
Affiliations
Sundus Sardar
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; Corresponding author at: Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Hamad General Hospital, P.O. Box 3050, Doha, Qatar.
Mohammed Abdurabu
Department of Emergency Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Ahmed Abdelhadi
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Mhd Baraa Habib
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Muhammad Bilal Jamshaid
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Adnan Humam Hajjar
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Munir Abu Ageila
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Tasnim Abdalla
College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
Anand Kartha
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Khalid Farooqui
Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
Malaria infection, which results due to the parasitic protozoan Plasmodium, has several known etiologies of hemolytic anemia as a possible complication in cases such as concurrent G6PD deficiency, severe parasitemia, or use of parenteral antimalarials. Although artemisinin-based antimalarial therapies are generally well-tolerated, several cases of severe post-artemisinin delayed hemolysis (PADH) have been recently reported, which present a diagnostic challenge, and affect morbidity and mortality in patients with malarial infection. We highlight the case of a young lady with Plasmodium falciparum severe parasitemia who developed hemolytic anemia after parenteral artesunate therapy.
