Imported malaria in adults: about a case of cerebral malaria.

BACKGROUND

Malaria is the first parasitic infection endemic in the world caused by parasites species of . Cerebral malaria (CM) is a rapidly progressive and severe form of infection, characterized by a greater accumulation of red blood cells parasitized by in the brain. The diagnosis of malaria is usually made in living patients from a blood sample taken in the course of a fever on return from an endemic country, whereas CM, often associated with fatal outcomes even in treated subjects, is usually diagnosed at autopsy.

CASE PRESENTATION

We present the case of a 36-year-old man who died a few days after returning from a business trip to the Ivory Coast. As a result of an unclear cause of death, a medicolegal autopsy was ordered. Autopsy findings revealed massive congestion and edema of the brain with no other macroscopic abnormalities at organ gross examination. Histology and laboratory tests were conducted revealing a infection, with numerous parasitized erythrocytes containing dots of hemozoin pigment (malaria pigment) in all examined brain sections and all other organs. Death was attributed to cerebral malaria with multiple organ failure.

CONCLUSIONS

This report summarizes several features for the diagnosis of malaria and how postmortem investigations, as well as histology and laboratory diagnosis, may lead to a retrospective diagnosis of a fatal complicated form with cerebral involvement.