Table 2 Biological characteristics of the study participants stratified by severity of malaria

WBC count, median (IQR), cell/mm³

9400 (7400–11 000)

9850 (7900–10 800)

0.578

Haemoglobin level, median (IQR), g/dL

9.5 (8.0–11.2

9.5 (7.2–11.0)

0.287

Platelet count, median (IQR), cell/mm³

172.5 (102.8–275.3)

108 (66–152)

0.004

P. falciparum parasite density, median (IQR), parasite/μl

22 192 (9110–44 654))

31 684 (13 960–7 3500)

0.178

Procalcitonin level, median (IQR), ng/mL

2.76 (2.52–2.93)

2.74 (2.52–2.98)

0.916