BACKGROUND

Children with severe malarial anemia (SMA) typically have low in-hospital mortality but have a high risk of postdischarge readmission or death. We hypothesized that the dysregulation of hematopoiesis, vascular growth factors, and endothelial function that occurs in SMA might affect risk of readmission or death.

METHODS

Plasma was obtained from children 18 months to 12 years old with SMA (n = 145) in Kampala, Uganda on admission, and outcomes were assessed over 12-month follow-up. Admission plasma levels of 10 biomarkers of vascular growth, hematopoiesis, and endothelial function were compared to risk of readmission or death over 12-month follow-up.

RESULTS

Over 12-month follow-up, 19 of 145 children with SMA were either readmitted or died: 15 children were readmitted (13 with malaria) and 4 children died. In multivariable analyses adjusted for age and sex, elevated plasma levels of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on admission were independently associated with a decreased risk of all-cause readmission or death (adjusted hazard ratios [95% confidence intervals], 0.28 [.16-.51] and 0.19 [.08-.48], respectively) and a decreased risk of readmission due to severe malaria (0.27 [.15-.51] and 0.16 [.05-.47]) but not with risk of uncomplicated malaria (1.01 [.53-1.95] and 2.07 [.93-4.64]).

CONCLUSIONS

In children with severe malarial anemia, elevated plasma levels of PDGF-BB and VEGF, 2 factors that promote angiogenesis, are associated with a decreased risk of readmission or death in the year following admission, primarily driven by a decrease in the risk of recurrent severe malaria.