DrMitrPhysio: Apr 25, 2014

Hearing this at first most of the Physios wouldn't think Malaria is relevant to our profession. But as we move into the extended scope, I think that PTs should know our role in it.

First Role - Having the knowledge about Malaria

Awareness about Malaria, its types, classification, about cerebral malaria which can lead to neurological symptoms and seizures, diagnosis, management and prevention.
Severe malaria also leads to hypoglycemia, respiratory distress, anemia, dehydration. Its very important for PTs to know how to differentially diagnose Malaria from other Infectious diseases.
To read more about this click here.

The common errors while diagnosing Malaria is
Failure to think of malaria in a patient with either typical or atypical illness
Failure to elicit a history of exposure (travel history) - including travel within a country with variable transmission
Misjudgement of severity
Missed hypoglycaemia
Failure to diagnose other associated infections (bacterial, viral, etc.)
Misdiagnosis (e.g. influenza, viral encephalitis, hepatitis, etc.)
Failure to recognize respiratory distress (metabolic acidosis)

Second - If while taking history you figure it to be Malaria, refer the patient to the physician.

Also make sure you make the patient aware about the condition and consequences of not undergoing the medical management.

Third - Very important one. Follow the five Moments of hand hygiene Guidelines given by WHO (World Health Organization).

This guidelines have to be followed while handling any infectious disease.

To Download the Guidelines given by WHO Click here.
To Download a book on Malaria by WHO and CDC Click here.

Thank you.

Spread the knowledge . .

Gayatri Ajay Upadhyay
DrMitrPhysio

Today is world Malaria Day! Before knowing the role of PT, lets see what is Malaria.

What is Malaria? Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease.

What are the clinical manifestations of Malaria?

Malaria causes symptoms that typically include

fever and headache, which in severe cases can progress to coma or death.

Who is more prone to get infected by Malaria?

The most vulnerable are persons with no or little immunity against the disease.

· Young children, who have not yet developed partial immunity to malaria

· Pregnant women, whose immunity is decreased by pregnancy, especially during the first and second pregnancies

· Travelers or migrants coming from areas with little or no malaria transmission, who lack immunity.

Prevalence in India -

In warmer regions closer to the equator transmission will be more intense
Malaria is transmitted year-round.

Types of Malaria –

Malaria is classified into either "severe" or "uncomplicated" by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is deemed severe when any of the following criteria are present, otherwise it is considered uncomplicated.

    Decreased consciousness
    Significant weakness such that the person is unable to walk
    Inability to feed
    Two or more convulsions
    Low blood pressure (less than 70 mmHg in adults and 50 mmHg in children)
    Breathing problems
    Circulatory shock
    Kidney failure or hemoglobin in the urine
    Bleeding problems, or hemoglobin less than 50 g/L (5 g/dL)
    Pulmonary oedema
    Blood glucose less than 2.2 mmol/L (40 mg/dL)
    Acidosis or lactate levels of greater than 5 mmol/L
    A parasite level in the blood of greater than 100,000 per microlitre (µL) in low-intensity transmission areas, or 250,000 per µL in high-intensity transmission areas.

Cerebral malaria is defined as a severe P. falciparum-malaria presenting with neurological symptoms, including coma (with a Glasgow coma scale less than 11, or a Blantyre coma scale greater than 3), or with a coma that lasts longer than 30 minutes after a seizure.

How do we diagnose Malaria?

Recent travel history, enlarged spleen, fever, low number of platelets in the blood, and higher-than-normal levels of bilirubin in the blood combined with a normal level of white blood cells.

Management -

Antimalarial Drugs

Prevention -