Malaria diagnosis in an emergency department before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective study

Sophie Demotier; Marion Gornet; Arianna Belli; Antoine Huguenin; Yohan N'Guyen

doi:10.1093/trstmh/trac073

Malaria diagnosis in an emergency department before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective study

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2023 Jan 3;117(1):64-66. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trac073.

Authors

Sophie Demotier¹, Marion Gornet², Arianna Belli¹, Antoine Huguenin³, Yohan N'Guyen¹

Affiliations

¹ Service de Médecine Interne, Maladies Infectieuses et Immunologie Clinique, Hôpital Robert Debré, Avenue du général Koenig, 51100 Reims, France.
² Service d'accueil des urgences. Hôpital Maison Blanche, 45 Rue Cognacq-Jay, 51100 Reims, France.
³ Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Pôle de Biopathologie, Avenue du général Koenig, 51100 Reims, France.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted access to health facilities.

Methods: We assessed the number of blood smears sampled in the emergency department (ED) among all blood smears performed for malaria in Reims University Hospital before and after 2020.

Results: We showed a decrease in the number of blood smears performed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but only in 2020. The seasonal increase of cases during summer was preserved. All blood smears positive for malaria in 2020 were sampled in the ED.

Conclusions: The ED played a key role in the diagnosis of malaria with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; France; emergency department; malaria.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / diagnosis
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Emergency Service, Hospital
Humans
Malaria* / diagnosis
Malaria* / epidemiology
Pandemics
Retrospective Studies