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Monthy Case Studies - 2003
Case #101 - February, 2003
A 3-year-old boy, born in Florida to Haitian parents, had never traveled outside the United States until he went to Haiti with his parents (12/17/02 to 1/8/03). The boy developed an intermittent fever and lethargy after returning to Florida. He was taken to a pediatrician who sent him to the emergency room of a local hospital for a sepsis work-up to rule out meningitis. Below are images from the boy's blood smears that were stained with Wright's-Giemsa. What is your diagnosis? Based on what specific criteria?
Figure A
Figure B
Answer to Case #101
This was a case of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Diagnostic features observed included:
- the presence of small, delicate ring forms (Figure A, black arrow).
- the presence of appliqué rings (Figure A, green arrow).
- the presence of crescent-shaped gametocytes (Figures A and B, red arrows).
- no enlargement of infected RBCs.
Figure A
Figure B
More on: Malaria
Images presented in the monthly case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving. On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.
