Publication:

The changing clinico-demographic profile of dengue infection in children: a hospital-based study from eastern India

Background Many parts of India, including the eastern regions, are now endemic for the dengue infection with increased recognition of atypical neurological manifestations apart from the classical clinical features.

Methods This prospective study was conducted in the department of paediatrics in a tertiary care teaching hospital in eastern India from July 2019 to November 2019 to determine the changing trends of the clinical features in the dengue patients of this region in the recent years among paediatric populations. All the serologically confirmed dengue patients admitted during this period satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study population and classified as per new WHO-2009 classification into: dengue fever without warning signs (DF), dengue fever with warning signs (DFWS) and severe dengue (SD). Detailed history, clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded and analysed for all children.

Results Out of the total of 110 cases, 16 cases (14.55%) were DF, 80 cases (72.73%) were DFWS and 14 cases (12.73%) were SD. The commonest age group affected (63.64 %) was between 4-<10 years. The male: female ratio of cases was 1.68:1. Besides classical clinical manifestations, we observed CNS involvement in nine cases (8.18%). Among them, five patients had dengue encephalitis, two patients had dengue encephalopathy, one patient had hypokalemic paralysis and one patient had Guillain-Barré syndrome. All the patients were treated as per standard guidelines.

Conclusions Clinician must be aware of such association during dengue outbreak because early diagnosis and appropriate supportive care can reverse this potentially fatal disease.