- Clinical Tropical Medicine sessions started yesterday at the QEII Medical Centre with malaria 1 and 2
- Self-assessment questions follow for those thinking about doing the FACTM part 1 exam this year
- Here are some questions based on the first two Malaria modules.
- Additional self-assessment exercises for prospective candidates on the ACTM website .
Problem 1
What parasitic infection is this and why?
(both results are from the same blood sample)
- Likely non-falciparum malaria.
- The HRP 2 P. falciparum band is absent on the rapid test.
- A weak band is present against the P. vivax – P. ovale – P. malariae position.
- There are no features in the thin film pointing to P. falciparum
- The trophozoites could belong to one of several Plasmodium species
Problem 2
What infection is this and why?
(both views are from the same blood film)
- Likely non-falciparum malaria.
- A single, amoeboid Plasmodium trophozoite is present inside and RBC
- The RBC is not deformed and has faint Schuffner’s dots
- Lower panel shows a likely gametocyte which is not crescent-shaped
- There are no features in the thin film pointing to P. falciparum
- The trophozoites could belong to one of several Plasmodium species
Here’s the clinical parasitology mini-lecture you may have missed, now in its new, minimalist version.
