Post-malaria neurological syndrome: a rare neurological complication of malaria

Background Post-malaria neurological syndrome (PMNS) is a rare self-limiting neurological complication that can occur after recovery from malaria, usually severe falciparum malaria. It is characterized by a myriad of neuropsychiatric manifestations including mild neurological deficit to severe encep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection 2019-04, Vol.47 (2), p.183-193
Main Authors: Yadava, Sanjay K., Laleker, Ashley, Fazili, Tasaduq
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain Diseases - diagnosis
Brain Diseases - drug therapy
Brain Diseases - parasitology
Case reports
Diagnostic systems
Encephalopathy
Family Medicine
General Practice
Humans
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine
Malaria
Malaria, Falciparum - complications
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Nervous System Diseases - diagnosis
Nervous System Diseases - drug therapy
Nervous System Diseases - parasitology
Neurological complications
Parasitemia
Review
Search engines
Syndrome
Vector-borne diseases
Young Adult
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Description
Summary:Background Post-malaria neurological syndrome (PMNS) is a rare self-limiting neurological complication that can occur after recovery from malaria, usually severe falciparum malaria. It is characterized by a myriad of neuropsychiatric manifestations including mild neurological deficit to severe encephalopathy. PMNS was first described in 1996 and since then there have been 48 cases reported in the English literature. We report another case of PMNS in a 24-year-old healthy male and present a review of the disease entity. Method We searched PMNS-related journal articles and case reports in the English literature, using PubMed and Google search engines. A total of forty-nine cases meeting the diagnostic criteria of PMNS were selected in this review. Conclusion PMNS is a rare complication of severe malaria that might be underreported. It can develop up to 2 months after clearance of parasitemia. Clinical features can be variable. Most cases are self-limited, but more severe cases may benefit from steroid therapy.
ISSN:0300-8126
1439-0973
DOI:10.1007/s15010-019-01267-9