Malaria grave en unidad de cuidados intensivos: Reporte de un caso de una especie no endémica en Norte de Santander, Colombia

Introduction: Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease which is predominant in tropical and subtropical regions. There are 5 serotypes of Plasmodium, in Colombia there are two serotypes for endemic malaria, P. vivax and P. falciparum. North of Santander is an endemic area for P. vivax. Objective: To show a case of severe malaria caused by P. falciparum, with a brief description of the pathophysiological aspects of severe malaria and the advent of new antimalarial therapies. Case Presentation: A 45-year-old male patient from an endemic region with P. falciparum, who was admitted due to nonspecific febrile symptoms, severe thrombocytopenia, impaired renal and hepatic functions with deterioration of his general condition. He is transferred to the intensive care unit as a dialytic urgency. Severe malaria due to P. falciparum was diagnosed, he is treated with antimalarial medication, and a possible coinfection is reported for the dengue virus due to a positive immunoglobulin M (IgM) result, so he receives a renal replacement therapy. The case is contextualized in a vicious circle of organ dysfunction, which is structured between renal failure and acute respiratory failure with an increased vascular permeability and refractory hypoxemia; despite the therapeutic effort, the patient dies due to multiple organ failures, and severe malaria. Conclusions: Malaria is a problem in the public health area. This case corresponds to imported malaria because this serotype has not been identified yet in the department of North of Santander. [Ortiz-Ruiz G, Urbina-Contreras ZE, Lamos-Duarte AF, Ferreira MF, Garcia-Zambrano F. Severe Malaria in the Intensive Care Unit: The report of a Case of a Non-Endemic Species in North of Santander, Colombia. MedUNAB 2017-2018; 20(3): 383-392].