Background: Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in children in endemic regions. This study aimed to examine the prevalence, risk factors, and predictive indicators of hypoglycemia in children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Urban Community Health Center of Anonkoua-Kouté in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Thirty-eight Black African children aged 3-14 years with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were included. Parasitemia, leukocyte count, blood hemoglobin concentration, and glycemia were also evaluated. The Spearman coefficient was used to analyze non-parametric distributions. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the parasitemia threshold for optimal prediction of hypoglycemia risk. Results: The prevalence of hypoglycemia was 34.2%, with a mean blood glucose level of 4.17 mmol/l. An inverse correlation was observed between glycemia and parasitemia. ROC curve analysis demonstrated an optimal hypoglycemic risk with a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 68% for a parasitemia threshold of 3,725/µL. No statistically significant associations were identified between glycemia and leukocyte count, hemoglobin level, or patient age. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of hypoglycemia in children with uncomplicated malaria, which was associated with elevated parasitemia levels. The importance of this factor in clinical settings arises from its potential impact on patient management and development of treatment strategies. The identified parasitemia threshold may serve as a critical indicator for evaluating treatment efficacy and assessing potential complications of malaria. Further research is warranted to validate these findings in larger multisite studies and to explore additional confounding factors.
| Published in | Advances in Biochemistry (Volume 13, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12 |
| Page(s) | 119-125 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Malaria, Hypoglycemia, Parasitemia, Plasmodium Falciparum, Uncomplicated Malaria, Children
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APA Style
Ahiboh, H., Koffi, J. A., Koné-Dakouri, B., Koné, F., Kouakou, H. F., et al. (2025). Parasitemia Threshold for Hypoglycemia Risk in Pediatric Uncomplicated Malaria: A Cross-sectional Study in Ivory Coast. Advances in Biochemistry, 13(4), 119-125. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12
ACS Style
Ahiboh, H.; Koffi, J. A.; Koné-Dakouri, B.; Koné, F.; Kouakou, H. F., et al. Parasitemia Threshold for Hypoglycemia Risk in Pediatric Uncomplicated Malaria: A Cross-sectional Study in Ivory Coast. Adv. Biochem. 2025, 13(4), 119-125. doi: 10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12
@article{10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12,
author = {Hugues Ahiboh and Joëlle Akissi Koffi and Bénédicte Koné-Dakouri and Fatoumata Koné and Henri Francisk Kouakou and Angèle Edjéme-Aké and Eric Yayo and Hervé Menan and Dagui Monnet and Marie-Laure Hauhouot-Attoungbré},
title = {Parasitemia Threshold for Hypoglycemia Risk in Pediatric Uncomplicated Malaria: A Cross-sectional Study in Ivory Coast},
journal = {Advances in Biochemistry},
volume = {13},
number = {4},
pages = {119-125},
doi = {10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ab.20251304.12},
abstract = {Background: Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in children in endemic regions. This study aimed to examine the prevalence, risk factors, and predictive indicators of hypoglycemia in children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Urban Community Health Center of Anonkoua-Kouté in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Thirty-eight Black African children aged 3-14 years with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were included. Parasitemia, leukocyte count, blood hemoglobin concentration, and glycemia were also evaluated. The Spearman coefficient was used to analyze non-parametric distributions. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the parasitemia threshold for optimal prediction of hypoglycemia risk. Results: The prevalence of hypoglycemia was 34.2%, with a mean blood glucose level of 4.17 mmol/l. An inverse correlation was observed between glycemia and parasitemia. ROC curve analysis demonstrated an optimal hypoglycemic risk with a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 68% for a parasitemia threshold of 3,725/µL. No statistically significant associations were identified between glycemia and leukocyte count, hemoglobin level, or patient age. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of hypoglycemia in children with uncomplicated malaria, which was associated with elevated parasitemia levels. The importance of this factor in clinical settings arises from its potential impact on patient management and development of treatment strategies. The identified parasitemia threshold may serve as a critical indicator for evaluating treatment efficacy and assessing potential complications of malaria. Further research is warranted to validate these findings in larger multisite studies and to explore additional confounding factors.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Parasitemia Threshold for Hypoglycemia Risk in Pediatric Uncomplicated Malaria: A Cross-sectional Study in Ivory Coast AU - Hugues Ahiboh AU - Joëlle Akissi Koffi AU - Bénédicte Koné-Dakouri AU - Fatoumata Koné AU - Henri Francisk Kouakou AU - Angèle Edjéme-Aké AU - Eric Yayo AU - Hervé Menan AU - Dagui Monnet AU - Marie-Laure Hauhouot-Attoungbré Y1 - 2025/12/31 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12 T2 - Advances in Biochemistry JF - Advances in Biochemistry JO - Advances in Biochemistry SP - 119 EP - 125 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2329-0862 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ab.20251304.12 AB - Background: Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in children in endemic regions. This study aimed to examine the prevalence, risk factors, and predictive indicators of hypoglycemia in children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Urban Community Health Center of Anonkoua-Kouté in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Thirty-eight Black African children aged 3-14 years with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were included. Parasitemia, leukocyte count, blood hemoglobin concentration, and glycemia were also evaluated. The Spearman coefficient was used to analyze non-parametric distributions. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the parasitemia threshold for optimal prediction of hypoglycemia risk. Results: The prevalence of hypoglycemia was 34.2%, with a mean blood glucose level of 4.17 mmol/l. An inverse correlation was observed between glycemia and parasitemia. ROC curve analysis demonstrated an optimal hypoglycemic risk with a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 68% for a parasitemia threshold of 3,725/µL. No statistically significant associations were identified between glycemia and leukocyte count, hemoglobin level, or patient age. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of hypoglycemia in children with uncomplicated malaria, which was associated with elevated parasitemia levels. The importance of this factor in clinical settings arises from its potential impact on patient management and development of treatment strategies. The identified parasitemia threshold may serve as a critical indicator for evaluating treatment efficacy and assessing potential complications of malaria. Further research is warranted to validate these findings in larger multisite studies and to explore additional confounding factors. VL - 13 IS - 4 ER -