Diagnosis Embattled - Correlation of Serum Ferritin and Lipid Profile with Severity of Dengue in Paediatric Population

Abstract

Introduction: Dengue is a highly prevalent mosquito-borne disease which requires serum ferritin and lipid profile testing to understand the severity of the infection. Iron and lipids are essential elements for the formation of viral organelles and the proliferation of DNGV. Hyperferritinaemia correlates with the severity of Dengue virus (DNGV) infection. Serum ferritin level is disproportionately high and indicates the increased risk of developing the complications. Hypolipidaemia is an independent predictor of the severity of dengue infection in critical patients. Due to the unavailability of dengue treatment, there is an upsurge in the demand for a prognostic biomarker for the DNGV infection. In dengue fever, serum ferritin is disproportionately raised compared to any bacterial or viral infection and this elevated level substantiates an increased risk of rising complications. Objective: This study is aimed to investigate the correlation of serum ferritin, platelets and lipid profile with disease severity and if these could serve as a predictive marker for progression to severe disease. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted on 100 subjects (50 cases and 50 controls) in a tertiary care referral hospital in western India. Complete blood count at the time of admission and at 48 hours along with Ferritin, renal and liver function tests, and lipid profile were performed on XL-640 Biochemistry FAA manufactured by Transasia Biomedicals, ERBA Mannheim. Tests to identify the normality of data distribution and tests of correlation were applied. Result: Platelet (p=0.02), total cholesterol (p=0.04), LDL (p=0.04) were found to be decreased while ferritin (p