Table 1 Characteristics of the 248 children enrolled in the study

No. of children

248

 Female (%)

117 (47)

 aged < 5 years

110

 Febrile (> 37.4 °C)

119

 (> 100,000 μL⁻¹)

71

 (> 250,000 μL⁻¹)

22

 Anaemia

 (< 30 %)

67

 (< 15 %)

0

 Enlarged liver

50

 Enlarged spleen

26

 Age (year)

6.3 (0.7–14)

 Weight (kg)

18.0 (7–40)

 Duration of illness (day)

2.7 (1–7)

 Temperature (°C)

38.4 (35–40.9)

 Haematocrit (%)

31.9 (18–42)

 GMPD (μL⁻¹ of blood)

57,504 (2,000–1,080,200)

 Liver enlargement (cm) [n = 50]

2.9 (0.1–8)

 Spleen enlargement (cm) [n = 26]

1.5 (0.3–6)