FACTORS PREDICTING MORBIDITY IN PATIENTS WITH DENGUE FEVER IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Abstract

Introduction: Dengue virus (DENV) affects over half the world’s population in 112 countries, and dengue fever (DF) is the second largest arthropod borne infectious global hazard after malaria with complications like Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) accounting for significant morbidity and mortality world over. Pakistan is significantly affected with DENV infection and to-date no study identifying risk factors associated with complications of DF has been done.

Methods: 997 confirmed cases of DF were collected in a tertiary care hospital in Lahore, Pakistan and their clinical and biochemical data were collected. Univariate, multivariate and logistics regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with development of DHF and DSS.

Results: Bleeding OR 70.7 (CI 38.4-129.9), deranged liver function test OR 1.9 (CI 0.97-0.99), platelet count on admission less than 50,000 x10⁹/L OR 0.16 (CI 0.13-0.19), presence of urinary red blood cells OR 1.4 (CI 0.179-0.900) and presence of urinary protein OR 1.1 (CI 0.191-0.974) were related to development of DHF and DSS.