Clinico - Hematological profile of dengue in children in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Dengue is one of the febrile illnesses which is caused by the Dengue fever virus. It affects people of all ages, from the infants to the elderly and is characterized by flu-like symptoms such as fever, anorexia, nausea, vomitings. 382 children below the age of 18 years who presented with symptoms of dengue fever and were admitted into the pediatric ward and intensive care unit and tested NS1 positive or IgM positive were included into the study. Blood was collected for serological, hematological and biochemical analysis especially SGPT and SGOT. 35.3% of them had dengue fever, 62.04% had dengue hemorrhagic fever and 2.6% had dengue shock syndrome. Fever was seen in 100%, abdominal pain in 67.3%, lethargy in 75.1%, 54.4% with headache, 58.6% with joint pains. The mean hemoglobin level among the children was 10.07 ± 3.19, platelet count below 10000 was seen in 3.4% of the cases, 10000-50000 cells/mm in 12.8%. leucocyte count <4 x 10in 48.2%, 4-6 x 10cells /cc in 47%, increased hematocrit in 15.2%. Increased SGPT was seen in 63.1% and elevated SGOT was in 59.2% of the patients. Since the treatment of dengue is relatively simple, the patients must be made aware to seek the medical help as soon as possible to reduce the amount of morbidity and mortality.