Clinical profile and outcome of thrombocytopenia in patients affected with Dengue fever in Goa

Dr.Nicasia Furtado; Dr. Carmen Pereira; Dr. Jessica Pereira

Volume : V, Issue : II, February - 2016

Clinical profile and outcome of thrombocytopenia in patients affected with Dengue fever in Goa

Dr. Nicasia Furtado, Dr. Carmen Pereira , Dr. Jessica Pereira

Abstract :

<p>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Background: Dengue can have a significant economic and health toll on the community and is on the rise. Thrombocytopenia is one of the main reasons for the hospital admissions in these cases. Objectives: To study the clinical profile and the outcome in thrombocytopenia due to dengue disease in Goa. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of a total of 73 patients, over one year, with confirmed diagnosis of dengue by the IgM MAC Elisa test. The data was collected from the case sheets, from the Medical Records Department and Microbiology Department. Results: A total of 73 patients were included in the study, out of which 54 were males (73.9%) and 19 were females (26.2%). Most of the patients belonged to the age group of 20 &amp;ndash; 29 years (39.7%). A total of 47.9% patients presented with fever on 4th day and 89.0% had thrombocytopenia on admission; while 38.3% had counts between 20000 to 50000, with a maximum drop observed on 4th to 6thday of fever. Only 6.8% of patients had severe hemorrhage. It was observed that only 11 patients received platelet transfusion. Mortality was seen in 2 patients and not directly related to the thrombocytopenia. Deranged AST was observed in 95.8% of patients and deranged ALT in 83.6% of patients. An association was observed with raised liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia in all the patients. Conclusion: The study showed that prevalence of thrombocytopenia is high in dengue, but the resultant need for platelet transfusion is negligible. Platelet counts usually decreased by 4th to 6th day and then rose thereafter. Thrombocytopenia by itself did not increase mortality in dengue.&lt;/p&gt;</p>