Liver profile changes and complications in jaundiced patients with falciparum malaria

To demonstrate the liver profile abnormalities in jaundiced falciparum malaria patients and to determine whether jaundice was associated with other complications in falciparum malaria, 390 patients with acute falciparum malaria were studied. 124 patients were jaundiced and the others were non-jaundiced. Hyperbilirubinemia (total serum bilirubin 3 to 64 mg/dl) was found in jaundiced patients predominantly as unconjugated bilirubin. Asparatate amino-transferase and alanine minotransferase were significantly higher in jaundiced patients (p < 0.01). There was a slight decrease of serum albumin in jaundiced malaria. The complications in jaundiced patients included cerebral malaria (n = 10), acute renal failure (n = 12), pulmonary edema (n = 3), shock (n = 3), and other severe malarial complications (n = 43). Jaundice was associated with cerebral malaria (p < 0.05), acute renal failure (p < 0.01), and hyperparasitemia (p < 0.01). After successful treatment, liver profile returned to normal within a few weeks. We found that jaundiced malaria patients had transient liver profile impairment which indicated predominantly hemolysis rather than liver damage; complications were more frequent in jaundiced patients.