A study of clinical and laboratory profiles of dengue fever in children

Abstract

Background: Early recognition of characteristic clinical and laboratory parameters of is importantto facilitate prompt diagnosis andtreatmentfor a better outcome, particularly in dengue burden countries.

Methods: Children aged less than 15 years who sought medical care in the pediatric department of Saveetha medical college, diagnosed as Probable Dengue/Dengue fever/ dengue with warning sign/severe dengue according to standard guidelines during the study period (July 2017 – December 2017) comprised the study sample.

Results: A total of 61 cases were enrolled, of these 36 were boys. The mean age was 6.49 years. Only five patients had severe dengue. Fever(96.7%), loss of appetite (59%), cough and running nose (33%) were common symptoms noted and itching (37.7%) was common during recovery. Only 11.4% of children had bleeding manifestation. Hepatomegaly was noticed in 35 children. Five children went into shock, 2 of whom had hypotension. NS1 was positive in 49%, IgM in 36%, and IgG in 13%. NS1 positivity rate on day 4, day 5 and day 6 of illness were 62.5%, 38.4% and 18.1% respectively.

Conclusion: Dengue fever is common during monsoon season, and the course and severity are highly variable. Though the manifestations of dengue are similar to other viral infections, morbidity and mortality are more, thus requiring early diagnosis. As observed in our study the presence of prodromal respiratory symptoms does not preclude the diagnosis of dengue. There should be a high index of suspicion of co-infection, notablymalaria and scrub typhus, if there is an unusual persistence of fever.