Vol. 6, Issue 2, Part B (2024)

Background: Severe dengue cases, particularly affecting children under five, can be fatal without timely treatment. Symptoms include fever, headache, joint pains, and rash. Severe cases progress through distinct phases and require hospitalization. Prevention focuses on mosquito bite avoidance. While a vaccine exists for some adolescents, none is universally available. Dengue's impact is substantial, with billions at risk annually, leading to millions of cases and deaths.

Aim of the study: This study aims to evaluate the clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, and outcomes of severe dengue fever in children.

Methods: The Department of Pediatrics at Shaheed Monsur Ali Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh, conducted a cross-sectional study from June 2021 to May 2022, focusing on 32 children diagnosed with severe dengue infection. Severity classification followed the 2019 national guidelines. Diagnosis relied on serological tests detecting dengue NS1 and/or IgM antibodies. Inclusion criteria encompassed children up to 14 years with positive dengue tests. Exclusion criteria included bacterial and parasitic illnesses. Data was collected through structured questionnaires administered by trained volunteers during the recovery phase. Statistical analysis used SPSS version 26.0, employing descriptive statistics for quantitative data presentation.

Result: Most children affected by severe dengue were aged 5-9 years (50.00%), with a slight male predominance (53.13%). Over half of the children had an average weight (53.13%), but there were notable percentages of overweight (15.63%) and obese (28.13%) children. Most patients were from urban areas (65.63%). Fever was nearly universal (96.88%), with common symptoms including abdominal pain and vomiting (78.13%), shock (62.50%), and pleural effusion (46.88%). Most patients (53.13%) were classified with DSS, followed by DHF (15.63%) and EDS (9.38%). Hospitalization lasted four days or more for 71.88% of patients, with ICU care required for many.

Conclusion: This study found that severe dengue in pediatric patients leads to significant morbidity, with prolonged hospital stays and intensive care needed. Most affected were children aged 5-9 years, with common symptoms including fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, and shock. Timely medical intervention resulted in most patients recovering within one to two weeks.