Cross sectional study on the relationship between serum calcium level and severity of dengue fever

Abstract

Background: Dengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito borne disease in the world. An estimated 50 million dengue infections occur annually. It is caused by a small, single stranded RNA virus belonging to the genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae and is divided into four serotypes (DEN-1 to DEN-4). These various serotypes are transmitted to humans through the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes, primarily Aedes aegypti. Materials & Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 72 patients with dengue fever, for a period of 12 months in the medicine wards of Government Medical College, Kottayam. All cases fulfilling the inclusion criteria during the study period were included after SRC and IRB approval. Results: Mean age of patients in the present study was 32.6 in dengue fever and 32.1 in severe dengue. There was no significant correlation between age and serum corrected calcium level (Pearson correlation coefficient – 0.074, p value 0.539). In patients with dengue fever, mean hematocrit was 39.2 %, while in those with severe dengue, it was 40.5 %. There was no significant correlation between hematocrit and serum corrected calcium level (Pearson correlation coefficient – 0.147, p value 0.219).