Towards a rational malaria management at district hospital level: exploratory case series of febrile adult patients in a holoendemic area of Tanzania.

Abstract

One hundred and sixty eight febrile adult outpatients were investigated at St Francis Designated District Hospital in Ifakara, a holoendemic area in Tanzania. We wanted to assess the potential anamnestic and clinical risk indicators for malaria and to establish a rational strategy for malaria management. Blood slide investigations showed that 14% of all patients were positive for P. falciparum. All the positive cases were found during the rainy season. No reliable criteria for malaria were found in the history taking and physical examinations. Signs and symptoms of respiratory tract infection such as difficulties during breathing, sore throat, chest pain, cough, pathological findings in lung auscultation and combinations of these were negatively associated with malaria parasitaemia. The same was true for lymph node swelling and a clinical diagnosis other than malaria. Quality control of blood slide results from the hospital revealed a sensitivity of 55%, a specificity of 72%, and positive and negative predictive values of 24% and 91%. The main recommendations for malaria management in adults were to improve the quality of blood slide examinations and to use a different diagnostic strategy during the dry and rainy seasons. During the dry season blood slides of febrile adult patients should only be performed if there is a suspicion of malaria and antimalarial drugs should only be administered if blood slide results are positive. During the rainy season all febrile adults without obvious cause of fever other than malaria should be treated with antimalarials without previous blood slide examination.