Malaria fever and patients with sickle cell anemia: a retrospective study

Sickle cell disease is a hereditary condition that poses a significant health risk in tropical Africa, and it has been observed that this condition can worsen in conjunction with malaria. Therefore, this study used a retrospective cohort design to analyze malaria fever occurrences in patients with or without sickle cell disease who were admitted to Ifako Ijaye General Hospital in Lagos State, Nigeria, between 2017 and 2020. The findings reveal that 52.5% of the total admitted patients were male, while 47.5% were female. The age distribution shows that 49.2% of the patients were 1-10 years old, making it the largest percentage, followed by the 11-20 years at 30.3%. The admission rates for malaria were 17.0% in 2017, 23.2% in 2018, 21.1% in 2019, and peaked at 38.7% in 2020, representing the highest proportion of admitted patients. The mortality analysis indicated that 55.7% of the deceased patients were male, while 44.3% were female. A significant majority of the mortality cases, 85.8%, were among children aged 1-10 years, highlighting that this demographic is the most susceptible to malaria, regardless of gender. While the number of patients with sickle cell anaemia was lower among the admitted malaria cases, they accounted for a significant portion of the mortality rate compared to those without sickle cell disease.