Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Dengue Fever in the Paediatric Age Group at a Tertiary Care Hospital of West Bengal - A Comparison of Two Subsequent Years
BACKGROUND Dengue is a major public health concern in tropical Asian countries and a most rapidly spreading mosquito borne viral disease with a 30 fold increase in global incidence over the last five decades. Dengue is among the ten leading causes of death in children ranging from 1 to 15 years of age in tropical Asian countries. Complications of dengue fever are common in children. But very limited studies are available on paediatric populations. The virus or non-structural protein (NS1) interacts with platelets and coagulation factors. A combined effect of mild disseminated intravascular coagulation, liver damage and platelet dysfunction results in bleeding in dengue fever. With this scientific knowledge background, the present study was undertaken to identify and document the changing pattern of dengue infection in paediatric age group with a special emphasis on laboratory findings of dengue cases in paediatric age group. METHODS The present descriptive study was conducted for two years in a state run paediatric referral hospital. The sample was purposive by design and consisted of patients who have been diagnosed as having dengue fever with warning signs and admitted. RESULTS Fever was typically high grade (> 103 F) and most patients presented with warning signs within 5 days of illness (64.2 % in year 2016 and 76.6 % in year 2017). Persistent vomiting and abdominal pain were the most common warning signs in both the years. Thrombocytopenia was the commonest laboratory finding. Bleeding in study subjects lead to < 50000 / cu mm platelet count. Most common bleeding was gastrointestinal bleeding (39.2 % of study subjects with platelet count < 50000 / cu mm presented with G. I bleeding). CONCLUSIONS Dengue illness comes with varied presentation. Atypical presentations can delay the diagnosis. Early recognition of warning signs keeping the atypical presentation in mind is important. KEYWORDS Dengue Fever, Paediatric Age Group, Non-Structural Protein (NS1), Thrombocytopenia