Severe malaria-bacterial sepsis co-infection among critically ill children admitted to pediatric emergency departments in Kinshasa

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of children admitted with life-threatening conditions (n = 138)

Variables	n (%)
Age (years)
< 5	84 (60.8)
≥ 5	54 (39.2)
Sex
Female	58 (42.1)
Male	80 (57.9)
Microscopy-confirmed malaria
Positive	96 (69.6)
Blood culture
Positive for pathogenic organisms	20 (14.5)
Negative (sterile or contaminants)	118 (85.5)

Table 2 Factors associated with severe malaria-bacterial sepsis co-infection in children (n = 138), n (%)/mean ± SD

Variables	Co-infection (n = 11)	No co-infection (n = 127)	P value
Age (years)
< 5	7 (63.6)	77 (60.6)	1.000
≥ 5	4 (36.4)	50 (39.4)	-
Sex
Female	7 (63.6)	51 (40.2)	0.199
Male	4 (36.4)	76 (59.8)	-
Clinical signs
Pallor	4 (36.4)	41 (32.3)	0.553
Respiratory distress	7 (63.6)	18 (14.2)	0.0012
Splenomegaly	7 (63.6)	19 (15.0)	0.0012
Hepatomegaly	2 (18.2)	23 (18.1)	0.243
Convulsions	1 (9.1)	9 (7.1)	1.000
Jaundice	2 (18.2)	7 (5.5)	0.203
Dark urine (hemoglobinuria)	0 (0.0)	6 (4.7)	1.000
Coma	0 (0.0)	3 (2.4)	1.000
Shock	0 (0.0)	3 (2.4)	1.000
Biological parameters
White blood cells (cells/mm3), median (min-max)	13700 (5500-55000)	9200 (3300-85000)	0.245
Platelets (× 103/μL), median (min-max)	130 (118-174)	144 (50-454)	0.160
C-reactive protein (mg/L), median (min-max)	48 (0-48)	48 (0-96)	0.691
Hematocrit (%)	25.0 ± 7.5	25.2 ± 7.3	0.554
Blood glucose (mg/dL)	36.4 ± 12.1	67.8 ± 41.0	0.0381
Alkaline reserve (mmol/L)	17.4 ± 7.8	18.6 ± 5.6	0.637
Clinical outcome
Deaths in the emergency department	2 (18.2)	3 (2.4)	0.060

¹Mann-Whitney U test.

²Fisher’s exact test.