Placental smears are useful to assess the burden of infection in pregnancy.
Because placental infection is associated with an increased risk of low birth
weight, and thus, increased risk of early infant mortality, placental smears are
also used to evaluate the impact of interventions on malaria infection in
pregnancy. Placental smears alone, however, probably do not represent the
complete picture of risk. Past or resolved infection might be more sensitively
diagnosed by characteristic histopathologic changes, even if touch
preparations are negative. Clinical trials evaluating impact of prevention
interventions during pregnancy on placental infection and low birth weight have
used placental smears as the outcome indicator.
Placental smears seen here showed numerous mature trophozoites, granules
of pigment, schizonts and macrophages containing ingested pigment. No
gametocytes were seen.