Hepatitis and thrombocytopenia: markers of dengue mortality

Liver involvement in dengue: A systematic review

Liver involvement is an unusual yet frequently overlooked dengue complication. Pivotal for an efficient clinical management, the early diagnosis of dengue-associated liver involvement relies on an accurate description of its clinical and biological characteristics, its prognosis factors, its association with severe dengue and its clinical management. We conducted a systematic review by searching PubMed and Web of Science databases for original case reports, cohort and cross-sectional studies reporting the clinical and/or biological features of dengue-associated liver involvement. The study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021262657). Of the 2552 articles identified, 167 were included. Dengue-associated liver involvement was characterised by clinical features including abdominal pain, hepatomegaly, jaundice, nausea/vomiting, and an echogenic liver exhibiting hepatocellular necrosis and minimal inflammation. Elevated Aspartate Aminotransferase and Alanine Aminotransferase but also elevated bilirubin, Alkaline Phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, increased International Normalised Ratio, creatinine and creatine kinase, lower albumin and prolonged prothrombin and activated partial thromboplastin time were prevalent in dengue-associated liver involvement. Cardiovascular and haematological systems were frequently affected, translating in a strong association with severe dengue. Liver involvement was more common in males and older adults. It was associated with dengue virus serotype-2 and secondary infections. Early paracetamol intake increased the risk of liver involvement, which clinical management was mostly conservative. In conclusion, this systematic review demonstrates that early monitoring of transaminases, clinical assessment, and ultrasound examination allow an efficient diagnosis of dengue-associated liver involvement, enabling the early identification and management of severe dengue.

Aminotransferasas y perfil lipídico en pacientes ecuatorianos con infección activa por virus dengue

El dengue es la arbovirosis con mayor incidencia a nivel mundial. Aproximadamente 100 millones de casos de dengue con signos de alarma y entre 250.000 y 500.000 casos de dengue grave, se registran anualmente. En Ecuador, en los últimos cuatro años se han registrado 83.472 casos de dengue. Estudios previos evidencian un incremento de los casos que cursan con disfunción hepática. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la asociación entre los niveles séricos de las enzimas aspartato aminotransferasa y alanino aminotransferasa y el perfil lipídico en pacientes con infección confirmada de Dengue. Se estudiaron 110 pacientes seleccionados sin distingo de edad, género o procedencia, cuyo diagnóstico fue confirmado virológica y serológicamente. Se incluyó un grupo control seronegativo al virus. En el perfil lipídico se evidenciaron diferencias significativas (p<0,003) en los valores de colesterol total y en infecciones secundarias; mientras que la frecuencia de elevación de ambas aminotransferasas fue alta en pacientes con dengue, no obstante, al comparar cuantitativamente los valores séricos no arrojaron cambios significativos, ni asociación. Se confirma la endemicidad del dengue, los cambios en el perfil lipídico, sin embargo, es evidente la necesidad de estudios poblacionales tomando en cuenta la genética de las poblaciones

Evaluating the validity of dengue clinical-epidemiological criteria for diagnosis in patients residing in a Brazilian endemic area

BACKGROUND

We evaluated the validity of clinical diagnosis compared with laboratory diagnosis of dengue in a retrospective sample of patients in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil.

METHODS

Our sample included 148 299 clinically (56.3%) or laboratory-diagnosed (43.7%) dengue cases. We compared the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value (PPV and NPV) of dengue patients' demographic and clinical characteristics with laboratory-based diagnosis. We used logistic regressions to estimate the correlation between clinical and laboratory diagnosis of dengue and a full set of dengue signs and symptoms.

RESULTS

We found substantial variability in sensitivity and specificity of signs and symptoms ranging from 0.8-81.1 and 21.5-99.6, respectively. Thrombocytopenia exhibited the highest PPV (92.0) and lowest NPV (42.2) and was the only symptom showing agreement with laboratory-confirmed dengue (φ = 0.38). The presence of exanthema and thrombocytopenia led to a greater likelihood of concordant clinical and laboratory diagnoses (exanthema: OR: 4.23; 95% CI: 2.09 to 8.57; thrombocytopenia: OR: 4.02; 95% CI: 1.32 to 12.27).

CONCLUSIONS

We found substantial variation in sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of dengue signs and symptoms. For accuracy, clinical and laboratory diagnosis of dengue should be performed concurrently. When laboratory tests are not available, we suggest focusing on the clinical manifestations most associated with dengue.

Dengue infection in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Dengue is the most extensively spread mosquito-borne disease; endemic in more than 100 countries. Information about dengue disease burden, its prevalence, incidence and geographic distribution is critical in planning appropriate control measures against dengue fever. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of dengue fever in India.

METHODS

We searched for studies published until 2017 reporting the incidence, the prevalence or case fatality of dengue in India. Our primary outcomes were (a) prevalence of laboratory confirmed dengue infection among clinically suspected patients, (b) seroprevalence in the general population and (c) case fatality ratio among laboratory confirmed dengue patients. We used binomial-normal mixed effects regression model to estimate the pooled proportion of dengue infections. Forest plots were used to display pooled estimates. The metafor package of R software was used to conduct meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 2285 identified articles on dengue, we included 233 in the analysis wherein 180 reported prevalence of laboratory confirmed dengue infection, seven reported seroprevalence as evidenced by IgG or neutralizing antibodies against dengue and 77 reported case fatality. The overall estimate of the prevalence of laboratory confirmed dengue infection among clinically suspected patients was 38.3% (95% CI: 34.8%-41.8%). The pooled estimate of dengue seroprevalence in the general population and CFR among laboratory confirmed patients was 56.9% (95% CI: 37.5-74.4) and 2.6% (95% CI: 2-3.4) respectively. There was significant heterogeneity in reported outcomes (p-values<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Identified gaps in the understanding of dengue epidemiology in India emphasize the need to initiate community-based cohort studies representing different geographic regions to generate reliable estimates of age-specific incidence of dengue and studies to generate dengue seroprevalence data in the country.