Rarely a patient with severe malaria may develop peripheral gangrene.
Most cases have been reported from India.
Usually Plasmodium falciparum but can also occur with P. vivax or mixed malaria.
Clinical features:
(1) peripheral gangrene, often of the lower extremities, often symmetrical
(2) often accompanied by disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
Pathogenesis has been ascribed to:
(1) antibody-mediated vasculitis
(2) high parasitemia with microcirculatory sludging
(3) thrombosis secondary to hypercoagulable state
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Specialty: Infectious Diseases
