The Predictors of the Severity of Dengue Fever: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Center of Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Dengue is an endemic disease for Bangladesh with occasional outbreak. Little is known about the predictors of severe dengue.
 Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in the medicine department of Dhaka Medical College from April 2019 to March 2020. Total 199 consecutive patients were enrolled in this study. For the purpose of the analysis, dengue fever was classified as group I and dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome was classified as group II.
 Results: The mean (SD) age of the study population was 28.5(12.1) and 87.4% were less than 40 years of age. The male and female ratio was about 3:1. Among the total study population, 149(74.9%) patients had DF, 46 (23.1%) had DHF and only 4 (2%) had DSS on presentation. Baseline demography and clinical presentation did not significantly differ between classical dengue and severe dengue. Previous history of dengue had low association with severity (RR, 95%CI, phi, P value; 1.2, 1.04-1.40, 0.25, 0.001).Most of the laboratory parameters were similar between the groups. The number of platelet count was significantly lower in DHF and DSS [median (IQR) 43500(16500-95250], than DF [median (IQR) 65000(33000-1170000, p-value 0.01]
 Conclusion: Previous infection with dengue virus and decreasing platelet count are the predictors of the severe dengue.
 J Dhaka Medical College, Vol. 29, No.1, April, 2020, Page 77-82

Demographic, Clinical and Hematological Parameters of Patients with Severe and Non Severe Dengue Infection

“…These findings are in accordance with the previous study who reported more cases of dengue infection in males as compared to females 13 . Another study carried out by HOSSAIN MZ et al reported more cases of dengue infection in males as compared to females 8 . Another study carried out by Jaiswal N et al reported that dengue infection occurs more in females as compared to males which in concordance to our findings 14 .…”

“…The type and intensity of the illness will determine the appearance of other symptoms like rash, gastrointestinal issues like nausea or vomiting, and respiratory tract problems like cough, sore throat, and nasal congestion 7 . Leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, and increasing hematocrit are characteristics of peripheral blood parameters 8 . Many studies have been published on the dengue infection but based on literature very limited research has been carried out on the clinical, demographic and hematological parameters between severe and non-severe dengue infections.…”