Abstract
Background
Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne illness that causes significant morbidity and mortality in tropical climates. This study compared the clinical features of fatal DF cases to severe non-fatal, and non-severe controls in Ecuador.
Methods
Retrospective case-control study of children (1 month to 15 years) hospitalized with serologically-confirmed DF in Guayaquil, Ecuador from 2013 to 2017. Cases of severe, fatal (SF) DF were compared to two control groups: (1) severe DF survivors (SS); and (2) patients with dengue with warning signs (DWS), matched 3:1 to cases for age, sex, and admission date.
Observational trial profile
Results
1051 patients were admitted with suspected DF and 552 were IgM-positive. Patients were classified as SF (n=11), SS (n=30), or DWS (n=511) (Figure1). Among SF cases, median age was 9.6 years (IQR 5.5-11), 7 (64%) were male, and median time to death was 1.5 days (IQR 0.8-4.0). (Table 1) SF cases had a median of 3 (Range 0-5) encounters with healthcare providers prior to presentation, compared to 2 (Range 0-5, p=0.02) for SS and 2 (Range 0-3, p=0.02) for DWS. Physical findings more common in SF cases than controls included: higher weight, tachycardia, tachypnea, delayed capillary refill, and hepatomegaly (p< 0.05 for all comparisons). Neurological manifestations were more prevalent in the SF group: 9/11 (82%) patients compared to 15/30 (50%, p=0.09) in SS and 7/33 (21%, p< 0.01) in DWS. Total leukocyte count (7.8x103/µL versus 4.5x103/µL, p=0.03) and absolute neutrophil count (5.1x103/µL versus 2.1x103/µL, p=0.03) were higher in SF cases than DWS controls. Fewer SF patients received intravenous dextrose than SS controls (27% versus 70%, p=0.03) (Table 2).
Admission characteristics of children with dengue fever
Management and outcome
Conclusion
Delayed recognition by healthcare workers, higher weight, vital sign abnormalities, hepatomegaly, neurological symptoms, leukocytosis, neutrophilia, and lack of dextrose in intravenous solutions were associated with mortality in children with DF. These findings have implications for optimizing the diagnosis and management of severe pediatric dengue infection.
Disclosures
All Authors: No reported disclosures
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