Think outside the Box for Diagnosing Malaria as a Cause of Sickle Cell Crisis in an Urban Hospital - Case Report

Plasmodium falciparum (PF) causes the most deadly form of malaria. This is a case of a 43 year old male with sickle cell disease who presented to a community hospital in Philadelphia and was admitted for sickle cell crisis secondary to Plasmodium falciparum malaria. His last visit to malaria endemic area (Nigeria) was 13 months prior, when he contracted malaria and was treated successfully by the local health center. Sickle cell disease is known to have a protective effect against malaria. This case illustrates the importance of high index of suspicion that clinician must have when encountering patients with prior histories of malaria or traveling to remote, endemic areas, even in patients with sickle cell disease and those who are outside of the one year window period of exposure.