Prevalence and factors associated with concomitant bacteremia among adults admitted with severe malaria at Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda

The prevalence of bacteremia among patients with malaria was high, seen in over one of every seven patients with malaria. Malaria patients with CNS symptoms, low peripheral oxygen saturation, malaria hyperparasitaemia and leucocytosis should be considered to be at high risk for bacteremia. If bacteria co-infection is suspected among patients with malaria, in the absence of culture and sensitivity results, a combination of ciprofloxacin and a penicillin can be considered since these two can provide an acceptable cover of the most common isolates, yet readily available in our resource limited setting.