Presumptive diagnosis and treatment of malaria in children at a healthcare center in Ghana.

What is it about?

Presumptive diagnosis and treatment of malaria is a major problem in children in malaria-endemic countries. There is documented evidence in many countries where cases of febrile illness were incorrectly diagnosed as malaria and malarial treatment is given, allowing other possible fatal causes of febrile illness to go untreated. In a typical clinical setting in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria is endemic, it is a very common practice to prescribe anti-malarial treatment to patients presenting with febrile illness, without recourse to laboratory diagnosis. The practice of presumptive diagnosis based on the assumption that every febrile illness is malaria until proven otherwise has contributed to the continued prescription of anti-malarial medication even when the malaria laboratory test result is negative.

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Photo by Егор Камелев on Unsplash

Photo by Егор Камелев on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The justification given is the fact that a delay in prompt treatment of the disease can cause rapid progress to severe disease and subsequent mortality. This retrospective study identified children who were admitted with fever and were treated with or without anti-malarial medications and discharged at the Paediatric Unit of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.

Perspectives