[Malaria and surgery: which prophylaxis?]

The authors report on a study carried out at the Centre Hospitalier universitaire (University Hospital) of Yaounde (Cameroon). Such a study aimed at to check interest of systematic malaria chemoprophylaxis during the peri-operative phase in general surgery. 61 patients were divided in two groups by random allocation with and without quinine chemoprophylaxis. All of them were monitored clinically and parasitologically during the peri-operative phase. Results show that in both groups, only patients already positive before surgical intervention presented clinical malaria signs, biologically confirmed; malaria attack was more frequent and more severe in the group without quinine. No malaria attack was observed in patients of both groups in which thick smear was negative in pre-operative phase. The authors suggest that any patient during the pre-operative phase, be tested to find out Plasmodium falciparum. If the test is positive, so chemoprophylaxis with quinine be prescribed. But such a medication is valuable only in urban endemic zone.