Introduction:

More than 40% of the population has a variable risk of contracting malaria in countries where its transmission persists, which constitutes a major global health problem.

Objective:

To identify the clinical characteristics, evolution and treatment of children with neurological disorders caused by Plasmodium falciparum as forms of malaria.

Method:

An observational, descriptive study of a series of cases was carried out in a random sample of 30 patients, who were admitted to the Clinic “Dr. Loeri Comba”, in Equatorial Guinea, with a diagnosis of malaria caused by this protozoan, and with associated neurological alterations, during the period from June 2017 to September 2019.

Results:

Seizure (33.3%) and coma (30%) were the most frequent clinical forms, especially in those under four years of age. High parasitaemia was not present in all of them, although it predominated in the 63.3%. The response to treatment with intravenous artesunate as the drug of choice was favorable (90%), also incorporating vitamins at high doses in complex form, zinc sulfate, anticonvulsants, dexamethasone and mannitol, creating a treatment protocol of its own in the Pediatric service. There were three deaths from respiratory infection, caused by the type of pneumonia associated with malaria.

Conclusions:

Children with neurological alterations caused by Plasmodium falciparum in malaria are not only evidenced in the coma state that causes the disease, but also in other forms of presentation with impaired consciousness and presence of seizures.

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