Introduction:

Severe malaria is a leading cause of mortality due to late presentation to health facilities. Hence, there is a need to identify and mitigate factors promoting delayed presentation with severe malaria.

Objective:

This study aimed to evaluate determinants of delayed presentation of children with severe malaria in a tertiary referral hospital.

Methods:

This study adopted a descriptive, cross-sectional design. The participants were children with a diagnosis of severe malaria, based on WHO diagnostic criteria. Delayed presentation was defined as presentation at the referral centre at >3 days of illness. Inferential analyses were done to identify factors associated with delayed presentation. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

A total of 126 children with severe malaria participated in the study; their mean (standard deviation) age was 4.2 (5.3) years. The prevalence of delayed presentation in this study is 37.3%. Socio-economic class (P = 0.003); marital status (P = 0.015) and the number of health facilities visited before admission in the referral centre (P = 0.008) were significantly associated with delayed presentation. Children from upper socio-economic class were thrice more likely to present late, compared to those from lower social class (odds ratio [OR] = 3.728, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.694–8.208; P = 0.001). Likewise, the Yorubas were more delayed than the Binis (OR = 0.408, 95% CI: 0.180–0.928; P = 0.033). There was a negative correlation between caregivers' perception of treatment (r = −0.113, P = 0.21) of convulsion in severe malaria and timing of presentation.

Conclusions:

Delayed presentation is common with multifactorial determinants in the setting. Health education of caregivers on the consequences of delayed presentation in severe malaria is desirable.