Maternal Sepsis in the Third Trimester Due to Plasmodium falciparum: A Case Report

Sepsis is a leading cause of maternal mortality internationally. Early detection and intervention improve both maternal and fetal outcomes. We describe a case of sepsis in a pregnant patient who had recently immigrated to the United States from Tanzania. She was transferred to our quaternary maternal facility at 31 weeks gestation for fever and sepsis of unknown origin. She required critical care management with broad testing to determine the etiology of her presentation. The source of her sepsis was ultimately attributed to a maternal malarial infection following two positive blood smears and PCR assays for Plasmodium falciparum with low parasitemia. She was appropriately treated leading to the patient’s eventual term delivery without complication. This case report will detail the above patient’s clinical course in addition to a discussion regarding severe malaria and severe sepsis.