Publication:

Clinical spectrum of dengue fever in patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh

Background Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes and is a significant public health problem in many tropical and subtropical countries, including Bangladesh. The clinical spectrum of dengue fever can vary widely, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe and potentially life-threatening illness. In this study, we aimed to describe the clinical spectrum of dengue fever in patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. The aim of the study was to observe the clinical spectrum of dengue fever patients.

Methods This prospective observational study was conducted at the department of medicine, Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study duration was 7 months, from June 2022 to December 2022. During this period, a total of 65 cases of dengue fever cases admitted to the hospital for treatment were included in the study, who had a hospital stay of at least 3 days.

Results The mean age of the participants was 30.78 years, and the male: female ratio was 1:1.95. 86.15% of the participants had no comorbidities, while diabetes and hypertension were observed in 6.15% of patients each. Patients' mean temperature had been high at the first check-up and dropped slowly to normal levels throughout the following check-ups, but the mean platelet count had significantly dropped from the first check-up throughout the following check-ups, improving only at the 6th check-up. ≤20,000 platelet count was observed in 6.15% at the first check-up, 9.23% at the 2nd check-up, 15.38% at the 3rd, 5.41% at the 4th, 15% at the 5th, and 0% at the 6th check-up. The most common warning signs were a positive tourniquet test (21.54%), vomiting (16.92%), and abdominal pain (15.38%). Hospital stay duration was <1 week for 95.38% of participants, and during discharge, only 3 patients had minor complications, with 3.08% mortality.

Conclusions The study observed a higher prevalence of dengue among younger age groups, and females had a higher prevalence in the study. The regular-interval check-ups revealed that dengue severity progressed slowly, and did not become worse immediately after the infection, rather continued to progress adversely slowly throughout the check-ups. Hospital stay was <1 week for the majority of the participants, and minor mortality was observed in the study.