Plasmodium vivax crebral malaria with pancytopenia in the Peruvian Amazon: case report

Abstract

Plasmodium vivax is the most common species in the Peruvian Amazon and causes 81% of all malaria cases. We present the case of an adult male patient with cerebral malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax, who started with general malaise and fever, then presented convulsions more than twice a day with loss of consciousness and motor functional limitation. Plasmodium vivax trophozoites were detected by thick
blood smear; we also found low counts of all three blood cell types.Treatment began with artesunate and clindamycin for five days, then one unit of packed red blood cells was transfused; treatment then continued with primaquine for seven days. The patient showed clinical improvement with neurological sequelae in one lower limb.