Publication: Malaria in splenectomized patients: Report of four cases and review
Issued Date
1993-03-01
Resource Type
ISSN
15376591
10584838
10584838
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-0027476638
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Clinical Infectious Diseases. Vol.16, No.3 (1993), 361-366
Suggested Citation
May Ho, Sornchai Looareesuwan, Pravan Suntharasamai, H. Kyle Webster Malaria in splenectomized patients: Report of four cases and review. Clinical Infectious Diseases. Vol.16, No.3 (1993), 361-366. doi:10.1093/clind/16.3.361 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/22739
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Title
Malaria in splenectomized patients: Report of four cases and review
Abstract
The spleen plays a central role in host defense against malaria in animals. Its role in human malaria is less well established. The spleen may contribute to protection against human malaria by mediating humoral or cellular immune responses or by clearing both rheologically and immunologically altered host erythrocytes. This report describes Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections that occurred after splenectomy in one nonimmune and three partially immune Thai adults. The clinical course was uncomplicated for all four patients, and parasite clearance was delayed only in the nonimmune patient. In three patients with falciparum malaria, humoral and cellular immune responses to blood-stage antigens during the acute infection and convalescence were similar to those of individuals whose spleens were intact. These findings suggest that the spleen may not be essential for the processes leading to parasite clearance in partially immune, splenectomized patients. Further studies on the course of malarial infections in splenectomized patients are crucial for clarifying the role of the spleen in host defense against human malaria. © 1993 by The University of Chicago.