RESEARCH The prognostic utility of b

DOI 10.1186/s12936-015-0549-yrarely available in a resource-limited setting whereAustralia Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground In an effort to reduce malaria-related mortality, the World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed cri-teria to define severe malaria, recommending that pa-tients meeting these criteria receive prompt parenteral anti-malarial therapy and supportive treatment on an acute medical ward [1]. Earlier iterations of this defin-ition [2,3] had limited practical utility: the sheer number of criteria (16 in the 2012 handbook) made its everyday use challenging. In addition strongly prognostic indices (metabolic acidosis) were listed alongside indices of lim-ited prognostic value (prostration); manifestations appear-ing predominantly in adults (pulmonary oedema, renal impairment) were recorded next to those relevant mainly to the paediatric population (severe anaemia); and some criteria were relatively uncommon (haemo-globinuria and abnormal spontaneous bleeding). Per-haps most importantly however, many of the criteria required laboratory and radiology services that ar