Causes of blackwater fever, a complication of malaria treatment, are not completely clear, and immune mechanisms might be involved. Clinical management is not standardized. We describe an episode of blackwater fever in a nonimmune 12-year-old girl in Italy who was treated with steroids, resulting in a rapid clinical resolution.
Keywords: Blackwater fever; Italy; Plasmodium falciparum; artemisinin derivatives; hemoglobinuria; malaria; parasites; quinine.