Rehabilitation Program for Cognitive Deficits in Ugandan Children After Cerebral Malaria
Malaria, Cerebral
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Malaria, Cerebral focused on measuring Malaria, Cerebral
Eligibility Criteria
CM group Inclusion Criteria:
- aged five to 15 years, presenting with asexual forms of P. falciparum malaria on a peripheral blood smear, unarousable coma (not able to localize a painful stimulus) and no other cause for coma (normal CSF).
CM group Exclusion Criteria:
- history of or present meningitis, encephalitis, prior CM, sickle cell disease (SCD), HIV infection, epilepsy, multiple seizures, developmental delay and history of hospitalization for malnutrition.
Healthy control group Inclusion Criteria:
- aged five to 15 years with no other illness at present, within two years of the CM child (for CM children aged 5 and 6 years, the HC's age wont go below 5 and for CM children aged 14 and 15, the HC's age wont go above 15 years).
Healthy control group Exclusion Criteria:
- history of or present bacterial meningitis, encephalitis, CM, SCD, HIV infection, history of hospitalization for malnutrition and any chronic illness for which the patient is currently taking medication.
Sites / Locations
- Mulago hospital Acute Care Unit and the Cerebral Malaria Project
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
No Intervention
Cognitive rehabilitation training
Treatment as usual
Children in this arm will the receive the intervention comprising of 16 cognitive rehabilitation training (CRT) exercises for 8 weeks. These exercises will train different cognitive skills including attention, visual spatial processing, logical skills and memory.
Children in this group will not receive any intervention, they will undergo the usual post discharge treatment for brain injured children at Mulago Hospital (the study site). This is the treatment as usual (TAU) group.