Patterns of disease among adults hospitalized with dengue infections.

BACKGROUND: Recent years have seen an increase in dengue infections among adults in Sri Lanka, with similar trends seen in many other countries. Data on the natural history and outcome of dengue in adults are quite limited. AIM: To study clinical and laboratory findings in adult dengue patients hospitalized in Sri Lanka during a recent major dengue epidemic. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. METHODS: Clinical, laboratory and demographic information were collected from adult patients with confirmed dengue infections (n = 108) treated in a general medical ward in Sri Lanka from 24 April to 31 July 2004. RESULTS: There were 68 male and 40 female patients, mean age 26.6 years. Dengue fever (DF) was seen in 33 (30.6%) and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) in 75 (69.4%). Of the 37 (34.3%) with primary dengue infections, 19 (51.4%) developed DF and 18 (48.6%) developed DHF. Overall, 42 patients (38.9%) had bleeding manifestations. These adults showed differences in clinical and laboratory findings, disease severity and mortality, compared to children seen during the same epidemic. Secondary dengue infections were significantly associated with development of severe disease (OR 5.0, 95%CI 1.9-13.5, p < 0.001). Mortality was 3.7%. DISCUSSION: Pooling data on adult dengue patients from different regions should help us to understand the natural history of disease in this group. It would also help in developing evidence-based treatment guidelines and allocating limited and scarce health resources. Our data contribute towards this goal.

Patterns of disease in Sri Lankan dengue patients.

BACKGROUND: Dengue is the most important mosquito borne viral infection in the world. Nearly 90% of infections occur in children. At present, prospective information on clinical and laboratory findings in South Asian children with dengue is generally lacking. AIM: To describe patterns of clinical disease in a cohort of children hospitalised with dengue during a major dengue epidemic in Sri Lanka. RESULTS: A total of 104 children were studied during a three month period. Eighteen had dengue fever (DF) and 86 had dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). Of those with DHF, 34, 23, 27, and 2 had DHF grade I, II, III, and IV respectively. Based on dengue serology testing, 13 of the DF patients had a primary infection and 5 had secondary dengue infections. In contrast, 68 of the children with DHF had secondary and 18 had primary dengue infections. Oral candidiasis was seen in 19 children. The odds ratio for children with secondary dengue infection to develop DHF was 9.8 (95% CI 3.1 to 31.2). CONCLUSION: Studies on patterns of paediatric dengue disease in different regions should help clinicians and health administrators make more informed and evidence based health planning decisions. It should also help towards mapping out dengue trends on a global scale. Oral candidiasis has not been previously documented in children suffering with acute dengue in Sri Lanka or elsewhere. Studying underlying reasons for this manifestation during future dengue epidemics may provide useful leads in understanding overall dengue pathogenesis.