Abstract

Renal and hepatic dysfunctions are part of the pathological effect of malaria infection common in children and pregnant women. Renal dysfunction is characterized by increase in creatinine, urea, and some of the electrolytes in the serum, while hepatic dysfunction is characterized by increase in liver enzyme activities.Two hundred and seventy children (age ranged 0 to 5 years) were recruited into this study. Malaria positive children were divided into two groups based on the number of parasite per µl. Those that had parasitaemia below 10,000 parasite per µl were considered mild infection, while those that had parasitaemia above 100,000 parasite per µl were considered severe infections. Malaria negative children were used as control. The result showed significant increase (P < 0.05) in serum creatinine and urea level in the malaria positive when compared with the control group. Among malaria positive children, the level of creatinine and urea were higher in the severe group than in the mild group. Sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, and chloride levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the control group than in malaria infected children, with the exception of the potassium which was significantly higher in the severe group than in the control group. Among malaria positive, serum Na⁺, HCO₃^- and Cl^- levels were significantly higher in the mild infection than in the severe infection. Serum protein was also significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the control group than in the infected children. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities were significantly higher in the severe group than in the mild and control groups. This study showed that malaria infection has effect on renal and hepatic functions, and the level of dysfunction is determined by the severity of the infection.

Key words: Malaria, liver function, kidney function, serum electrolyte, liver enzymes, children.