Delayed Diagnosis Seen in More Than One in Four Pediatric Patients With Malaria

THURSDAY, May 21, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For pediatric patients with malaria presenting to hospitals in the United States, delayed diagnoses are common and are associated with increased risk of severe malaria, according to a study published online May 8 in Pediatrics.Sesh Alexander Sundararaman, M.D., Ph.D., from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a retrospective descriptive study of pediatric patients treated for malaria at nine hospitals in the United States from 2016 to 2023. Patient demographics, clinical outcomes, and risk factors for severe malaria were examined among 171 children included in the study.The researchers found that most of the patients had traveled to West Africa to visit friends and relatives. The most common symptom recorded was fever (90 percent), and at least one abdominal symptom was reported by most patients (66 percent). Severe malaria was diagnosed in 32 percent of patients; there were no deaths. Twenty-six percent of patients had delayed diagnoses; they occurred at similar rates across all hospitals and were a risk factor for severe malaria."Children who come in and are suspected of having malaria essentially have fever, but they can also present with a wide range of symptoms," senior author Audrey R. Odom-John, M.D., Ph.D., also from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a statement. "They can have cough, they can have tummy symptoms, they can have headache, they can have almost anything. That's why rapid and precise testing is necessary to confirm these cases."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Delayed Diagnosis Seen in More Than One in Four Pediatric Patients With Malaria

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