Management of Severe Malaria

Management of Severe Malaria - A practical handbook
Paperback: 58 pages
Publisher: World Health Organization; 2nd edition (June 2000)
Language: English
ISBN: 9241545232

The World Health Organization was established in 1948 as a specialized agency of the United Nations serving as the directing and coordinating authority for international health matters and public health.One of WHO 's constitutional functions is to provide objective and reliable information and advice in the field of human health,a responsibility that it fulfils in part through its extensive programme of publications.

The Organization seeks through its publications to support national health strategies and address the most pressing public health concerns of populations around the world.To respond to the needs of Member States at all levels of development,WHO publishes practical manuals,handbooks and training material for specific categories of health workers; internationally applicable guidelines and standards;reviews and analyses of health policies,programmes and research; and state-of-the-art consensus reports that offer technical advice and recommendations for decision-makers.These books are closely tied to the Organization 's priority activities,encompassing disease prevention and control,the development of equitable health systems based on primary health care,and health promotion for individuals and communities. Progress towards better health for all also demands the global dissemination and exchange of information that draws on the knowledge and experience of all WHO 's Member countries and the collaboration of world leaders in public health and the biomedical sciences.

To ensure the widest possible availability of authoritative information and guidance on health matters,WHO secures the broad international distribution of its publications and encourages their translation and adaptation.By helping to promote and protect health and prevent and control disease throughout the world,WHO 's books contribute to achieving the Organization 's principal objective – the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health.

Malaria continues to be a major health problem in many parts of the world,with over 2400 million people in some 100 countries at risk of infection.Delay in treating P.falciparum – the species of parasite that can cause severe forms of the disease – may result in rapid deterioration in the patient 's condition,together with the development of a number of life-threatening complications.

This handbook is an updated edition of Management of severe and complicated malaria, providing new and revised practical guidance on the diagnosis and management of severe falciparum malaria.After outlining the general nursing care needed by these patients,it considers in turn the possible complications,including coma, convulsions,severe anaemia,acidosis,renal failure, hypoglycaemia,and pulmonary oedema,and gives specific and concise advice on their management.While intended primarily for clinical professionals and other responsible health staff working in hospitals and health centres with inpatient facilities in malaria-endemic countries,it will also be of practical use to physicians in non-endemic areas,who are increasingly having to deal with patients infected during visits to malarious areas.

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