blackwater fever n a rare febrile complication of repeated malarial attacks that is marked by destruction of blood cells with hemoglobinuria and extensive kidney damage
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a rare and serious complication of malignant tertian (falciparum) malaria in which there is massive destruction of the red blood cells, leading to the presence of the blood pigment haemoglobin in the urine. The condition is probably brought on by inadequate treatment with quinine; it is marked by fever, bloody urine, jaundice, vomiting, enlarged liver and spleen, anaemia, exhaustion, and - in fatal cases - a reduced flow of urine resulting from a blockage of the kidney tubules. Treatment involves rest, administration of alkaline fluids and intravenous glucose, and blood transfusions.
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a severe complication of malaria characterized by intravascular hemolysis, hemoglobinuria, renal failure, and passage of dark brown or red urine, seen in association with intermittent quinine therapy, with Plasmodium falciparum infection in the nonimmune, or with interrupted exposure in the partially immune. The hemolysis is believed to be caused primarily by an autoimmune response to the infection. Called also malarial hemoglobinuria.Medical dictionary. 2011.