Lung Ultrasound in Children With Severe Malaria

Inclusion Criteria: * Children aged between 1 and 14 years; * Admitted for confirmed severe malaria (i.e. positive peripheral blood slide for malaria parasite and/or positive rapid diagnostic test for malaria in combination with one or more clinical or laboratory severity criteria detailed below). * Informed consent signed Clinical features of severe malaria * Cerebral malaria; A Glasgow Coma Scale of less than 11 or a Blantyre coma scale less than 3 in preverbal children * Respiratory distress (costal indrawing, use of accessory muscles, nasal flaring, deep breathing or severe tachypnea (respiratory rate \> upper normal limit for age) * Jaundice (visible jaundice) * Circulatory collapse or shock: age \<12 systolic blood pressure \< 70mm Hg; age \> 12 systolic blood pressure \<80mm Hg with cool extremities or capillary refill time \>3 seconds * Spontaneous bleeding * Multiple generalized convulsions: more than two episodes within 24h * Prostration, i.e. generalized weakness so that the patient is unable to sit, stand or walk without assistance Laboratory features and other findings * Metabolic acidosis (venous plasma bicarbonate \< 15mmol/l or base excess \< -2.2mEq/L) * Severe anaemia (age \<12: hematocrit \< 15% or haemoglobin \< 5g/dl; age\>12: hematocrit \< 20% or hemoglobin \< 7 g /dl) * Hypoglycaemia (\< 2.2mmol/l or \< 40mg/dl) * Hyperparasitaemia defined as \> 10% * Hyperlactataemia (venous lactate \< 5 mmol/L) * Kidney dysfunction (blood urea \>20mmol/L) Exclus…