Pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines mediate the progression of severe anemia in malaria‐infected children: A prospective study

Background Severe Plasmodium falciparum malarial anemia is still the principal cause of death in children in underdeveloped countries. An imbalance between proinflammatory and anti‐inflammatory cytokines is associated with malaria progression. This study evaluated circulating levels of selected inflammatory cytokines among malaria‐infected children in Ghana. Methods This case‐control study was conducted at Tamale Teaching Hospital, Ghana. One hundred and twenty children with malaria and 60 controls, aged 12−144 months were selected from April to July, 2023 for the study. Malaria was diagnosed through microscopy, full blood count was measured using hematology analyzer, and cytokines were measured using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Results Malaria‐infected children had higher tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) (p