Clinical and haematological profile of dengue among adult patients at a tertiary care hospital in Pokhara

Abstract

IntroductionDengue is an important infectious disease. This disease is prevalent in the terai belts of Nepal mainly. But in the last few years, the cases are in increasing trend in the hilly areas of Nepal also. Hence this study was done in an aim to study the clinical and haematological profile of the dengue cases.MethodsThis was a retrospective cross-sectional quantitative study done at a tertiary teaching hospital of Pokhara, Nepal after obtaining ethical approval from the institutional ethical committee. The data of serologically confirmed dengue cases, during the period of August 2019 to December 2019, of age above 15 years, were collected and analysed using SPSS 20. Descriptive analysis in terms of mean, median, percentage as well as t-test for nominal and chi-square tests were used to compare different parameters. P-value≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsOut of 922 patients, approximately one-half (50.5%) cases were seen during the month of September. Most (82.8%) were the inhabitants of Kaski district. Median age of presentation was 29 years with slightly more cases of males (52.4%). Three hundred and forty seven patients were admitted. Fever (96.5%) and headache (40.6%) were the most common symptoms on presentation of admitted cases. Leukopenia (55.3%) was more common than thrombocytopenia (47.6%) in the admitted cases. On comparison between admitted patients with warning signs and those without signs, no significant variation was seen in terms of age, total leukocyte count and total platelet count.ConclusionDengue is common in young population. Fever, headache and gastrointestinal symptoms are common among dengue patients. Leukopenia and thrombocytopenia are common laboratory features of dengue.

Dengue among Suspected Patients Admitted to Department of Medicine of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

“…The present study findings are very similar to a study done in Bangladesh, 2022 where (94.10%) had non-severe dengue and the remaining (5.90%) had severe dengue. 12 On the contrary, a Nepalese study conducted in a similar setting in 2022 revealed that dengue with warning signs was seen in (27.30%) 13 which is very low as compared to the current study. The mean hospital stay was 3.07±1.78 in a study conducted at Dhaka hospital.…”

“…Nepalese study conducted in a similar setting in 2022 revealed that dengue with warning signs was seen in (27.30%) 13 which is very low as compared to the current study. The mean hospital stay was 3.07±1.78 in a study conducted at Dhaka hospital.…”

“…Different subtypes of Dengue infections (dengue with no warning sign, dengue with a warning sign, and severe dengue) were categorized according to WHO criteria. 13 Laboratory data about the serological status of Dengue (NS1, IgG, IgM) and platelets, leukocyte count, hematocrit and liver biochemistry (SGPT, SGOT) level were carefully noted in the questionnaire.…”

Changes in the Liver Function and Hematological Parameters in Dengue Patients at a Tertiary Care Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

“…[15][16][17] The median age of the participants in our study was 35 years. Similar mean age of the dengue patients were reported by Swamy et al (34.8years) 5 , Shrestha et al (34.4 years) 14 and Thapa et al (35.3 years) 18 , and while Dhungana et al, 13 reported a lower median age of 29 years in his study. Dengue is common in younger adults, possibly due to their frequent travel and increased exposure to mosquito bites, given their active work lifestyles.…”

“…This is consistent with the findings of by Saud et al 12 However, Dhungana et al and Shrestha et al 14 found males were affected slightly more than the females. 13 Similar studies from other Asian countries also showed male preponderance. [15][16][17] The median age of the participants in our study was 35 years.…”