The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics 2006 , Vol 48 , Num 1
A rare cause of anemia and thrombocytopenia in a newborn: congenital malaria
1Departments of Pediatrics, Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey
2 Departments of Microbiology, Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey
Başpınar O, Bayraktaroğlu Z, Karslıgil T, Bayram A, Coşkun Y. A rare cause of anemia and thrombocytopenia in a newborn: congenital malaria. Turk J Pediatr 2006; 48: 63-65.

A newborn with fever and jaundice was referred to our hospital with anemia and thrombocytopenia of unknown origin. The patient’s mother suffered from malaria infection during the third trimester of her pregnancy, but she did not accept medical therapy. On physical examination the newborn showed mild splenomegaly and jaundice. Laboratory tests revealed marked anemia with a hemoglobin value of 7.7 g/L and thrombocytopenia with platelet numbers of 17,000/mm3. Plasmodium vivax was detected in blood smear. Oral therapy with chloroquine and primaquine was started. This patient is the second case of congenital malaria reported from Turkey, and shows that the diagnosis of congenital malaria should be considered in infants with suspected congenital infection who are born to mothers with a history of malarial disease. We emphasize the importance of adequate antenatal medical therapy during pregnancy. Keywords : congenital malaria, newborn thrombocytopenia, newborn anemia

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