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. 2023 Apr 14:8:172.
doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.19166.1. eCollection 2023.

Predicting Acute and Post-Recovery Outcomes in Cerebral Malaria and Other Comas by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT in CM) - A protocol for an observational cohort study of Malawian children

Kyle J Wilson  1   2 , Zhanhan Tu  3 , Emmie Mbale  4 , Priscilla P Mhango  5 , Petros Kayange  5 , Melissa J Gladstone  6 , Simon Harding  1   7 , Irene Gottlob  8 , Marta Garcia-Finana  9 , Yaochun Shen  10 , Terrie E Taylor  11   12 , Karl B Seydel  11   12 , Yalin Zheng  1   13 , Nicholas Av Beare  1   7
Affiliations

Predicting Acute and Post-Recovery Outcomes in Cerebral Malaria and Other Comas by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT in CM) - A protocol for an observational cohort study of Malawian children

Kyle J Wilson et al. Wellcome Open Res. .

Abstract

Cerebral malaria (CM) remains a significant global health challenge with high morbidity and mortality. Malarial retinopathy has been shown to be diagnostically and prognostically significant in the assessment of CM. The major mechanism of death in paediatric CM is brain swelling. Long term morbidity is typically characterised by neurological and neurodevelopmental sequelae. Optical coherence tomography can be used to quantify papilloedema and macular ischaemia, identified as hyperreflectivity. Here we describe a protocol to test the hypotheses that quantification of optic nerve head swelling using optical coherence tomography can identify severe brain swelling in CM, and that quantification of hyperreflectivity in the macula predicts neurodevelopmental outcomes post-recovery. Additionally, our protocol includes the development of a novel, low-cost, handheld optical coherence tomography machine and artificial intelligence tools to assist in image analysis.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; brain swelling; cerebral malaria; intracranial pressure; malarial retinopathy; optical coherence tomography.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing interests were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Representative timeline for OCT in CM study and individual participant timelines for different groups.
AI – artificial intelligence; CM – cerebral malaria; COC – coma of other cause; HC – healthy controls; MRI – magnetic resonance imaging; OCT – optical coherence tomography
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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