Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020

Knowledge about placental malaria (PM) is insufficient in the world, and incipient in Colombia where studies are few and recent. In this country, PM has been reported by Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, and mixed infection. The objective was to determine the frequency of PM and its associate...

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Main Authors: Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias, Jaime Carmona-Fonseca
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9129008/?tool=EBI
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author Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias
Jaime Carmona-Fonseca
author_facet Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias
Jaime Carmona-Fonseca
author_sort Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias
collection DOAJ
description Knowledge about placental malaria (PM) is insufficient in the world, and incipient in Colombia where studies are few and recent. In this country, PM has been reported by Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, and mixed infection. The objective was to determine the frequency of PM and its associated clinical-epidemiological factors in mothers and neonates in northwestern Colombia, 2009–2020. A Retrospective pooled analysis with 602 placentas captured in five investigations. The diagnosis of PM was made with thick blood smear (TBS) and qPCR. The groups with and without PM were compared using the Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test, and crude and adjusted prevalence ratios in a log-binomial model. The prevalence of PM was 27.7% with 92% (155/167) of submicroscopic cases; 41.3% by P. vivax, 44,3% by P. falciparum, and 14.4% by mixed infections. In the multivariate adjustment, PM was associated with the diagnosis of congenital malaria, low neonatal weight, gestational malaria, maternal anemia, previous malaria during pregnancy, and age between 25–43 years. This research is the investigation with the largest number of subjects for studying PM in Colombia, in the ecoepidemiological zone that produces more cases of malaria per year, finding a high prevalence of submicroscopic PM that caused serious maternal (anemia) and neonatal (congenital malaria and low neonatal weight) effects. The results show limitations in the timely diagnosis and treatment, given that the epidemiological surveillance program in Colombia is based on thick blood smear, which generates a substantial underestimation of the magnitude of PM, with serious effects and clinical risks. It is urgent to demand that the health authorities adopt measures such as prenatal control visits as soon as the pregnancy begins, monthly implementation of TBS, and active search for infected pregnant women in their homes and workplaces.
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spelling doaj.art-1ddc0cabb69b4df8a7c4321bc7b7523f2022-12-22T00:39:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01175Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-AriasJaime Carmona-FonsecaKnowledge about placental malaria (PM) is insufficient in the world, and incipient in Colombia where studies are few and recent. In this country, PM has been reported by Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, and mixed infection. The objective was to determine the frequency of PM and its associated clinical-epidemiological factors in mothers and neonates in northwestern Colombia, 2009–2020. A Retrospective pooled analysis with 602 placentas captured in five investigations. The diagnosis of PM was made with thick blood smear (TBS) and qPCR. The groups with and without PM were compared using the Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test, and crude and adjusted prevalence ratios in a log-binomial model. The prevalence of PM was 27.7% with 92% (155/167) of submicroscopic cases; 41.3% by P. vivax, 44,3% by P. falciparum, and 14.4% by mixed infections. In the multivariate adjustment, PM was associated with the diagnosis of congenital malaria, low neonatal weight, gestational malaria, maternal anemia, previous malaria during pregnancy, and age between 25–43 years. This research is the investigation with the largest number of subjects for studying PM in Colombia, in the ecoepidemiological zone that produces more cases of malaria per year, finding a high prevalence of submicroscopic PM that caused serious maternal (anemia) and neonatal (congenital malaria and low neonatal weight) effects. The results show limitations in the timely diagnosis and treatment, given that the epidemiological surveillance program in Colombia is based on thick blood smear, which generates a substantial underestimation of the magnitude of PM, with serious effects and clinical risks. It is urgent to demand that the health authorities adopt measures such as prenatal control visits as soon as the pregnancy begins, monthly implementation of TBS, and active search for infected pregnant women in their homes and workplaces.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9129008/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias
Jaime Carmona-Fonseca
Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020
PLoS ONE
title Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020
title_full Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020
title_fullStr Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020
title_full_unstemmed Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020
title_short Frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern Colombia, pooled analysis 2009–2020
title_sort frequency of placental malaria and its associated factors in northwestern colombia pooled analysis 2009 2020
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9129008/?tool=EBI
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