Conference abstract
Factors associated with malaria mortality in the Province of Luanda, 2017
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2017:3(118).01
Nov 2017.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2017.3.118.474
Archived on: 01 Nov 2017
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Keywords: Malaria mortality, severe malaria, case-control, children under five
Oral presentation
Factors associated with malaria mortality in the Province of Luanda, 2017
Claudete Samutondo1,&, Rosa Moreira1, Jlio Leite1
1Agostinho Neto University, School of Medicine, Master of Field Epidemiology and Laboratory, FELTP, Luanda, Angola
&Corresponding author
Claudete Samutondo, Agostinho Neto University, School of Medicine, Master of Field Epidemiology and Laboratory, FELTP, Luanda, Angola
Introduction: malaria is the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age globally and in Angola. From December 2015 to May 2016, all health units in Luanda reported an alarming increase in the number of cases of severe malaria and related deaths in all age groups, especially in the 0-4 age group. This study sought to evaluate risk factors associated with high malaria mortality rate among children < 5 years of age admitted at the health units in Luanda.
Methods: a 1:1 age matched hospital based case control study was carried out in 142 malaria hospitalized children. A case was any child under the age of 5 years with a diagnosis of microscopically confirmed Malaria and whose outcome of hospitalization was death. A control was any child with the same diagnosis and hospitalized at the same hospital as the case, who were discharged after successful treatment. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data using a face to face interview with the care giver of the selected child and secondary data was obtained through desk review of the clinical files. Logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors associated with Malaria death in under five children admitted in the health units of Luanda province. All analysis were evaluated at 5% level of significance.
Results: being ill for a period of 7 days was significantly associated with a 135 fold times risk of death, [AOR = 135.9; (95% CI: 17.5, 155.4), p < 0.001], waiting 12 or more hours to be administered the first prescribed drug was greatly highly associated with malaria death, [AOR = 217.1; (95% CI: 6.6, 717.8), p < 0.001]. Those who were not treated with Artemeter on admission to hospital were [AOR = 12.4; (95% CI: 1.8 to 87.9), p < 0.001] at risk of death due to Malaria.
Conclusion: the lethality of severe malaria cases remains high. Most of the malaria caused deaths occur within 24 hours of admission, suggesting that pre-hospital management can have an impact on the risk of lethality. Immediate malaria diagnosis and treatment should be put into practice in the health units. An urgent need to raise awareness of caregivers to immediately seek health care is important. Malaria case management should be improved at hospital level.
