[Severe hypoglycemia during a pernicious attack of Plasmodium falciparum malaria treated with quinine (study of 110 cases)]

Abstract

One hundred and ten patients with severe falciparum malaria have been admitted between 1985 and 1987. All had received quinine to the same protocol: 8.3 mg base/kg infused intravenously over 3 hours every eight hours. A systematic glycaemic supervision by capillary glycaemia every eight hours has been employed. Hypoglycaemia occurred in 17 patients (15.5%). Despite an early injection of glucose, recurrent hypoglycaemia was almost constant (16 over 17). The mortality of the group with hypoglycaemia is significantly higher (41% to 25%; 00.5 less than p less than 0.1). We have not found any connection between the risk of hypoglycaemia and elements of gravity of the access. If the part of the patient (age, pregnancy), high parasitemia and impaired hepatic gluconeogenesis have been finding, our results suggest than quinine-induced insulin secretion is the principal mechanism of this hypoglycaemia. Its high incidence and its severity impose preventive measures.