WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Ogbondah Augustina Chizoma, Professor Patrick Iwuanyawu and Dr. Solomon Joseph Chiegil

ABSTRACT

Malaria continues to constitute a great challenge in Sub-Saharan African countries, and it is a major concern for most pregnant women since it lowers their immunity and poses a risk to the mother's life as well as the possibility of transfer to the fetus. The goal of this study is to assess renal function in malariaaffected pregnant women. The 120 pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinic at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (main site) and the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital Primary Health Centre were recruited using a case-control study design (60 women with gestational malaria and 60 healthy pregnant women at the study center) at Umuoko, Aluu within every four to six months using a convenient non-probability sampling method. The respondents' socio-demographic information, medical and obstetric histories were collected, and they were tested for malaria parasite infection and subsequent kidney biochemical markers (urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium, chlorine, and bicarbonate) using conventional laboratory techniques. The levels of urea and creatinine were found to be significantly lower (p 0.000 and p 0.000, respectively) in this investigation. Electrolytes (sodium, chloride, potassium, and bicarbonate) in malaria-positive pregnant women, on the other hand, were within normal limits for adult females and pregnant women. As a result, the current study found that malaria has no significant influence on renal biochemical parameters, particularly at the specified levels of urea and creatinine, indicating that there is no risk factor associated with malaria infection. However, pregnant women who present to hospitals with malaria should have their renal function checked.

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