Publication:

Clinical-epidemiological profile of dengue fever in children admitted in a tertiary care hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Background Dengue infection has been known to be endemic in India for centuries. In recent years, the disease has changed its course manifesting in its severe form as Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS), with increasing frequency of outbreaks. The objective of the present study was to study the clinical and epidemiological profile of dengue fever in children admitted in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods Clinical records of children aged 0-15 years with serologically confirmed dengue infection admitted at the Institute of Child Health, Kolkata during the Dengue outbreak (June 2016 to November 2016) were reviewed.

Results Out of 958 cases of Dengue fever majority were boys 565 (59%), with M: F ratio of 1.4:1, and among them majority (40%) were in the age group of 5-10 years. Maximum number of cases were seen in the month of September 282 (29.4%).   65.6% cases had dengue fever without warning sign, while 28.6% had dengue fever with warning sign and 5.7% had severe dengue. Among the severe dengue cases 72% were less than 5 years of age while only 28% were more than 5 years of age.  Out of 958 cases we had 63 (6.6%) cases of dengue with atypical manifestations. Seizure was the most common atypical manifestation. Six children expired with a Case Fatality Rate of 0.6%. Dengue shock syndrome was the leading cause of death.

Conclusions Dengue affects all age groups, but children less than 5 years are more prone for developing severe dengue. Atypical manifestations are becoming more common in dengue fever, which can delay the diagnosis so careful observation from the clinician side is required to prevent any serious morbidity or mortality.