Travis C., 2

Travis is the youngest of three in a family consisting of his single mother and an older sibling. After separating from their father, the family now lives in a single-roomed house. His mother describes Travis as an energetic and headstrong child who is constantly active and often gets into minor fights with his brother—so much so that one might mistake him for the older sibling. His favorite meal is rice with stewed Irish potatoes. Recently, Travis developed a cold that lasted a few days, accompanied by a persistent fever. His mother initially treated him with over-the-counter cold medicine, assuming the fever was related. When the fever didn’t go down, she gave him painkillers, hoping it would help. However, that night, Travis began convulsing. Alarmed, his mother sought help from a neighbor with a motorcycle, and they rushed him to the hospital. Upon arrival, he was attended to in the emergency unit, stabilized, and then admitted to the ward for further treatment.

Travis was brought to the hospital while convulsing. Initially he had had a flu and a fever which later got worse. He was diagnosed with severe malaria. upper tract infection and septicemia. His condition warranted admission, whereupon he was admitted for a number of days. He was administered IV Artesunate as per the treatment sheet for his malaria. He was also given paracetamol, a painkiller, and put on antibiotics for the septicemia. The patient responded well to the medication and was duly discharged on orals to take at home. A visit by the volunteer to their home revealed that Travis was okay and had gone back to his normal life.

Patient presented to the emergency with fever, convulsions and lethargic. Prompt management was initiated and the child stabilised, patient was admitted for further management and is set to make a full recovery, any delay would have resulted in death. Severe malaria can progress to a fatal outcome rapidly, so its treatment should be initiated as soon as possible. Patients with severe malaria, regardless of infecting species, should be treated with intravenous (IV) artesunate.