Serum enzymes activities in Plasmodium falciparum infection in Southern Pakistan

Objective: Serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotranferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were assessed to determine the liver functions of patients infected with Plasmodium falciparum. The enzyme activities were assessed in 60 malarial patients and a control group of 44 people. Materials and Methods: The data for the study was collected from the survey conducted from Liaquat University of medical and health sciences Hospital, Hyderabad, Pakaistan. Sample of 60 patients aged between 20 and 50 years were collected. A control group of 44 healthy individual adults was also assessed for comparative purposes. All the malaria patients who visited the OPD during the study period enrolled in the study. Results: The LDH activity in male patients was found to be 674.89 ± 33.354 IU/L. This is above the control LDH activity of 296.59 ± 14.476 IU/L. Similarly, in female patients, the serum LDH activity of 580.25 ± 24.507 IU/L is over twice the control female serum LDH activity of 302.18 ± 18.082 IU/L. Further one-way anova test was performed to find any significance in infected and control male and female. Conclusion: Hepatic dysfunction was found to be associated to P. falciparum malaria infection.