A case of Plasmodium vivax malaria with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage and acute renal failure, severe thrombocytopenia, with anemia

When we talk about severe malaria, we usually think of Plasmodium falciparum. However, in recent times, Plasmodium vivax has also been reported to cause severe multi-organ dysfunction and life-threatening disease similar to P. falciparum. We report here a case of P. vivax malaria in a young boy from an endemic zone, who developed acute renal failure, severe thrombocytopenia, and anemia and later developed spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. Multisystem involvement in a patient with P. vivax is rare, and subarachnoid hemorrhage is an unusual presentation.