Deciphering Hepatic Dilemmas: A Case of Acute Hepatitis Following Malaria Treatment

Malaria can be a life-threatening disease, but it rarely presents with acute hepatitis. This case reports the medical course of a 55-year-old African woman afflicted with P. falciparum malaria, recently treated in Cameroon, who presented with jaundice and transaminitis. Her liver biopsy indicated cholestatic hepatitis. Her diagnosis was complicated by the fact that only one of four follow-up thick and thin blood smears was positive for P. falciparum. After more than 17 months of follow-up, her liver enzymes and bilirubin returned to baseline without further malaria treatment, and her findings were attributed to drug-induced liver injury caused by antimalarial medications.