Trainee Mentoring Award
Mentee: Ronke Olowojesiku, MD, MPH, Pediatric Residency; Douglas Postels, MD, Pediatric Neurology
Objectives: To identify whether trends in serum lactate through time are a better marker of adverse outcomes than a single measurement at admission, and to identify whether fluid resuscitation (crystalloid, colloid, blood) modifies these associations.
Project Summary:
Malaria is a parasitic disease with significant global disease burden. Children account for two-thirds of all malaria deaths. Its most lethal, severe form is cerebral malaria (CM), a condition that with optimal care, carries a 15% mortality risk and can leave survivors with adverse neurologic outcomes. Prior studies have identified serum lactate as highly predictive of adverse outcomes in CM among African children, while also noting increased mortality with the use fluid boluses to improve acidosis and circulating blood volume in this pediatric population. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether trends in serum lactate are better predictive of outcomes in CM compared to point estimates, as well as to observe if fluid resuscitation with crystalloid, colloid, or blood modulates this association.
