Background: Plasmodium vivax is the predominant cause of clinical malaria in India. Though infection of plasmodium vivax is historically believed to be a benign form of malaria, recent reports suggest that Plasmodium vivax can also lead to several complications. The study was undertaken to document the urinary abnormalities by dipstick method in Plasmodium vivax malaria patients and to know its usefulness and correlation with level of parasitaemia. Method: This study was performed on patients suffering from plasmodium vivax malaria, diagnosed by peripheral smear examination. Urine samples from Plasmodium vivax infected patients and healthy controls were analysed by dipstick method and compared. Parasite grading was done semi quantitatively by examining the stained thick smears. Proteinuria in positive cases are graded semi quantitatively as trace, +,++,+++ as per kit manufacture’s guidelines. Result: In our study out of 100 patients 97 (97%), showed protein in urine, which is significant, compared to control group (p value<0.05). Other urinary constituents like bilirubin and urobilinogen were also higher in these patients in comparison to control group. Also current study showed a positive correlation between proteinuria and plasmodium vivax parasitaemia and thus highlighted its usefulness as one of the diagnostic indices in identifying patients with severe plasmodium vivax malarial infestation. Conclusion: This study has documented proteinuria in significant number of patient with plasmodium vivax infestation. Study also showed a positive correlation between proteinuria and plasmodium vivax malaria parasitaemia. Even though urinalysis is not an alternative diagnostic tool for malaria, these urinary findings can be used as one of the diagnostic indices in identifying patients with severe plasmodium vivax malarial infestation. But further extensive researches involving large number of cases needs to be undertaken to support and justify the real benefits of these findings.

Keywords: Urine; Plasmodium Vivax; Malaria; Proteinuria; Dipstick.