A CORRELATION BETWEEN SEQUESTERED PARASITIZED ERYTHROCYTES IN SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUE AND CEREBRAL MALARIA

Sequestered parasitized erythrocytes were found in microvessels of sub cutaneous tissues in a comatose patient with cerebral malaria even tho ugh the blood smears were negative after quinine treatment. This situa tion reflects the continued presence of sequestered parasites in the b rain and suggests that negative parasitemia in peripheral blood does n ot necessarily mean the end point of malarial treatment has been reach ed. Our findings suggest that biopsy of subcutaneous tissue from sever e malaria patients may be useful for determining the severity and prog nosis of malaria patients.