A case of Plasmodium vivax malaria with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage and acute renal failure, severe thrombocytopenia, with anemia

Abstract

When we talk about severe malaria, we usually think of <i>Plasmodium falciparum.</i> However, in recent times, <i>Plasmodium vivax</i> has also been reported to cause severe multi-organ dysfunction and life-threatening disease similar to <i>P. falciparum</i>. We report here a case of <i>P. vivax</i> malaria in a young boy from an endemic zone, who developed acute renal failure, severe thrombocytopenia, and anemia and later developed spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. Multisystem involvement in a patient with <i>P. vivax</i> is rare, and subarachnoid hemorrhage is an unusual presentation.