Deadly intracranial bleed in patients with dengue fever: A series of nine patients and review of literature

Ischemic Stroke During Dengue Infection: A Report of 2 Cases

BACKGROUND Involvement of the central nervous system during infection with dengue virus (DENV) is recognized. However, ischemic stroke is rarely reported. Herein are described 2 cases of patients with ischemic stroke in which DENV infection was demonstrated. CASE REPORT The first patient was a 51-year-old woman that presented altered consciousness, monoparesis, facial palsy, dysarthria, Babinski sign, and syncope 7 days from the onset of fever. She had a history of carotid artery atherothrombosis and previous stroke. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an acute infarction of the right middle cerebral artery. DENV was confirmed by the presence of NS1 and IgM in serum. The patient was treated with intravenous fluids and recovered well, with only right facial paresis still present at discharge. The second patient was a 50-year-old man who presented with headache, altered consciousness, and mutism after a febrile episode 1 week prior. This patient had a previous history of stroke, glioblastoma resection, epilepsy, hypothyroidism, and diabetes. MRI demonstrated a subacute ischemic event. The diagnosis of dengue was confirmed by serum NS1 and IgM and by RT-PCR in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. DENV-1 serotype was observed in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. The patient was treated with intravenous fluids and was discharged in good condition. In both patients, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia was demonstrated, and hemoconcentration was demonstrated in the second patient. CONCLUSIONS In tropical and subtropical countries, DENV infection can represent a potential cause of ischemic stroke in patients with a history of comorbidities, including stroke.

The burden, risk factors and unique etiologies of stroke in South-East Asia Region (SEAR)

The World Health Organization (WHO) South East Asia Region (SEAR) comprises 11 countries, which are one of the most culturally, topographically, and socially diverse areas worldwide, undergoing an epidemiological transition towards non-communicable diseases, including stroke and other cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This region accounts for over 40% of the global stroke mortality. Few well-designed population-based epidemiological studies on stroke are available from SEAR countries, with considerable variations among them. Ischemic stroke, a common stroke subtype, has higher frequencies of intracerebral hemorrhage in many countries. Along with an aging population, the increased prevalence of risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tobacco and alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, high ambient pollution, heat, and humidity contribute to the high burden of stroke in this region. SEAR's many unique and uncommon stroke etiologies include cerebral venous thrombosis, tuberculosis, dengue, scrub typhus, falciparum malaria, snake bite, scorpion sting, etc. Current data on stroke burden and risk factors is lacking, compelling an urgent need for high-quality hospital-level and population-level data in all SEAR countries. Strategies towards a consolidated approach for implementing improved stroke prevention measures, stroke surveillance, and established stroke systems of care are the path to bridging the gaps in stroke care.

Reinvestigation of the risk of stroke after dengue virus infection: A population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Dengue virus (DENV) infection is the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral disease. Stroke is a severe manifestation of dengue. However, few large-scale studies have investigated post-dengue risk of stroke.

METHODS

This population-based cohort study included 57,934 newly diagnosed, laboratory-confirmed dengue patients in Taiwan from 2002 to 2015; patients were matched to nondengue individuals by age, sex, and area of residence at a ratio of 1:4 (n = 231,736). We used subdistribution hazard regression to evaluate short-term (≤ 30 days), medium-term (31-365 days), and long-term (1-3 years) risk of stroke after DENV infection. The robustness of the results to unmeasured confounding was assessed with E-values.

RESULTS

DENV infection was associated with a significantly increased risk of overall stroke (aSHR 4.51; 95% CI: 3.23-6.32; P < 0.0001; E-value = 8.49), hemorrhagic stroke (aSHR 4.13; 95% CI: 2.20-7.76; P < 0.0001; E-value =7.73), and ischemic stroke (aSHR 3.80; 95% CI: 2.37-6.11; P < 0.0001; E-value = 7.06) within 30 days. Stratified analysis by age showed that the aSHRs for overall stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke were larger among dengue patients aged ≥ 65 during the first 30 days. The 30-day risks of overall stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke among elderly dengue patients were 6.71, 1.29, and 3.49 per 1000, respectively. No increased risk was observed after 30 days.

CONCLUSION

DENV infection was associated with a significant short-term increased risk of stroke. Clinical practitioners should remain alert to patients with stroke-associated symptoms during epidemic seasons, especially elderly patients.

Spontaneous acute subdural hematoma in dengue fever: Case report and review of the literature

Introduction and importance

A very uncommon dengue fever consequence is subdural hematoma. IgG positivity, increased AST, and ALT levels may all be risk factors for bleeding in dengue fever patients.

Case presentation

We report the case of a 65-year-old man who presented with dengue fever symptoms and developed altered consciousness and focal neurological deficits. The findings of the tests showed thrombocytopenia, increased AST and ALT, positive anti-dengue IgG, and subdural hematoma on brain imaging. The urgent operations were completed satisfactorily.

Clinical discussion

Dengue-related intracerebral haemorrhage is still a complicated condition. Thrombocytopenia and leukopenia are the first symptoms that point to dengue. Some risk factors, such as thrombocytopenia and increased AST and ALT, have been identified as bleeding factors in dengue fever. For a possible intracerebral haemorrhage, radiological imaging should be performed. In an emergency neurosurgery setting, thrombocyte administration could be used to monitor thrombocytopenia.

Conclusion

Subdural hematoma is a possible dengue fever complication. If the patient's symptoms with thrombocytopenia and elevated liver enzymes indicate the possibility of intracranial haemorrhage, immediate radiological imaging should be performed.

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Elevated AST and ALT as a risk factor of intracranial bleeding in dengue fever

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Immediate radiological imaging to the patients with positive IgG and intracranial haemorrhage symptoms.

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Emergency surgical intervention should be conducted depending on patient's status with thorough care in hematologic profile.

Expanded dengue syndrome presenting with acute liver failure, acute kidney injury, pancreatic involvement, coagulopathy, and multiple intracranial hemorrhages in a young child: a case report

Background

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that typically occurs in tropical and subtropical countries. The clinical manifestations of dengue infection range from an asymptomatic subclinical course to severe dengue shock syndrome. Besides, dengue can affect any organ in the body and can present with atypical manifestations.

Case presentation

We report a 6-year-old previously healthy Tamil child who had dengue complicated with multiorgan involvement. She initially presented with high fever, headache, body aches for 5 days, blood and mucus diarrhea, hematuria, and right knee joint swelling for 2 days. Dengue NS1 antigen was positive on day 2 of febrile illness. She was managed symptomatically in the local hospital for 3 days and transferred to the tertiary care hospital for further management. She was eventually diagnosed as having dengue hemorrhagic fever complicated with multiorgan involvement including acute liver failure, pancreatic involvement, coagulopathy, arthritis, acute kidney injury, and multiple intracranial hemorrhages. The constellation of disease manifestations was identified as expanded dengue syndrome. She was managed with fresh blood, platelet, and cryoprecipitate transfusions and intravenous antibiotics in addition to renal and liver support in the intensive care unit. On day 14 of illness, she deteriorated while on the ventilator and died due to multiple intracranial hemorrhages.

Conclusion

The reported child with dengue hemorrhagic fever developed several unusual presentations such as acute liver and renal failure, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, pancreatic involvement, and multiple intracranial hemorrhages, which form part of expanded dengue syndrome. In the seriously unwell child, it is important to look for unusual complications actively to improve outcomes.

Expanded Dengue Syndrome: A Case of Subarachnoid Haemorrhage, Cranial Diabetes Insipidus, and Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiosis

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection common in tropical countries with increasing incidence. The clinical manifestations can range from asymptomatic or mild infection to multiorgan failure. The latter is also called "Expanded dengue syndrome," and it carries a high rate of mortality and morbidity. Intensive care management of such complicated cases is a challenging task for the treating physician, which requires intense monitoring and a multidisciplinary approach for decision making. We report an atypical case of an expanded dengue syndrome presented with subarachnoid haemorrhage associated with moderate thrombocytopenia, cranial diabetes insipidus, and haemophagocytic lymphohistiosis in a young healthy female patient.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors for intracranial hemorrhage or infarction in patients with dengue

BACKGROUND

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) or infarction in dengue cases is rare but very challenging for clinicians. We report these uncommon complications of dengue patients and focused on the significant factors associated with ICH or infarction in dengue patients.

METHODS

This investigation was a retrospective study of 182 adult dengue patients who received brain computed tomography at three Taiwan hospitals during the 2014 and 2015 dengue outbreaks. This included 13 hemorrhage cases, 26 infarction cases and 143 cases without brain infarction or hemorrhage.

RESULTS

Among them, 13 (7.14%) suffered from ICH (6 had subdural hemorrhage, 3 had subarachnoid hemorrhage, 1 had subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage, and 3 had intracerebral hemorrhage) and 26 (14.3%) had brain infarction. The overall mortality rate was 4/13 (30.8%) in the ICH group and 3/26 (11.5%) in the infarction group. The significant variables from the univariate analysis, including difference between 2014 and 2015, age, history of cerebrovascular accident, bone pain, arthralgia, dizziness, altered consciousness, and a higher Charlson comorbidity score. Multivariate analysis revealed that significant risk factors for ICH/infarction in dengue cases were the year of occurrence, 2014 vs. 2015 (p < 0.0001, OR = 25.027, 95% CI = 8.205-76.336), Charlson score >4 (p = 0.01, OR = 3.764, 95% CI = 1.364-10.386) and altered consciousness (p < 0.0001, OR = 6.3, 95% CI = 2.242-17.7). The factors physicians should notice in dengue endemic regions for brain infarction or ICH include altered consciousness and a Charlson score >4, especially in the year that a higher frequency of infarction/ICH was observed.

Severe dengue categories as research endpoints-Results from a prospective observational study in hospitalised dengue patients

Severe dengue was perceived as one clinical disease entity until the WHO 2009 classification stratified it into severe vascular leakage, severe bleeding, and severe organ dysfunction. The objectives of this study were to investigate the potential use of severe dengue categories as endpoints for intervention research. 271 patients with severe dengue among 1734 confirmed dengue patients were followed prospectively in this hospital-based observational study in Latin America and Asia. We compared the distribution of severe dengue categories according to gender and age (below/above 15y), and determined the relative frequency and the overlap of severe dengue categories in the same patients. In a next step, we extended the analysis to candidate moderate severity categories, based on recently suggested definitions which were adapted for our purposes. Severe vascular leakage occurred in 244 (90%), severe bleeding in 39 (14%), and severe organ dysfunction in 28 (10%) of 271 severe dengue patients. A higher frequency of severe leakage was seen in children or adolescents (<15y) compared to adults. More than 80% of the severe leakage cases, and 30-50% of the cases with severe bleeding or severe organ dysfunction, were defined as severe on the basis of that feature alone. In 136 out of 213 patients with severe leakage alone, neither moderate bleeding manifestation nor hepatic involvement was recorded. On the other hand, moderate leakage manifestations were detected in 4 out of 12 cases that were classified as severe based on bleeding alone. A major proportion of severe dengue patients exhibited clinical manifestations of severe vascular leakage only, which may constitute a useful endpoint for intervention research or pathophysiology studies. Severe bleeding and severe organ manifestation were recorded less frequently and exhibited a higher degree of overlap with severe leakage. Severe bleeding without leakage may be associated with individual predisposition or the presence of comorbidities. More detailed assessments are needed to explore this hypothesis. Candidate moderate disease endpoints were investigated and need to be further validated.

Risk of stroke in patients with dengue fever: a population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Stroke is a severe neurologic complication of dengue fever, described in only a few case reports. The incidence and risk factors for stroke in patients with dengue remain unclear. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study to investigate the risk of stroke in patients with dengue.

METHODS

Using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we included a total of 13 787 patients with dengue newly diagnosed between 2000 and 2012. The control cohort consisted of patients who did not have dengue, matched 1:1 by demographic characteristics and stroke-related comorbidities. We calculated the cumulative incidences and hazard ratios (HRs) of stroke in both cohorts using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression.

RESULTS

The overall incidence rate of stroke was 5.33 per 1000 person-years in the dengue cohort and 3.72 per 1000 person-years in the control cohort, with an adjusted HR of 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.32). The risk of stroke among patients with dengue was highest in the first 2 months after diagnosis (25.53 per 1000 person-years, adjusted HR 2.49, 95% CI 1.48-4.18).

INTERPRETATION

Dengue fever was associated with an increased risk of stroke in the first few months after diagnosis. The effect of dengue on stroke may be acute rather than chronic.

Burden of Dengue-related Neurosurgical Emergencies during an Epidemic: A Tertiary Care Experience

Dengue is one of the most common flavivirus infections which can manifest from common flu-like fever to fatal hemorrhagic complication. Epidemics of dengue return every year with peaks during the rainfall claiming substantial number of lives in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. We present manifestations of dengue in patients who underwent neurosurgery in a tertiary referral center during such an epidemic. There were total four patients referred for neurosurgical intervention as sequelae to dengue coagulopathy. Among them, three had intracranial bleeds and one had spinal cord hematoma along with intracranial hemorrhages. This small series includes the youngest reported case of dengue coagulopathy with intracranial bleed and only the second case of spontaneous intraspinal hematoma sequelae to dengue hemorrhagic fever. The situations where patients contract dengue in a setting of neurosurgical intervention are grave. The margin of safety in the presence of dengue coagulopathy is narrow. The surgeon has to outweigh benefit against risk of surgery in each individual.

Beyond thrombocytopaenia, haemorrhage and shock: the expanded dengue syndrome

Dengue infection classically presents with fever, thrombocytopaenia, and varying degrees of plasma leakage, giving rise to shock. However, a myriad of other manifestations, involving the cardiovascular system, the nervous system, the liver, the kidneys, the gut and the haematological system have been reported in dengue. This review summarizes these varied presentations.

Case Report: Right Hemispheric Neuroimaging Abnormalities in a Patient with Dengue Encephalopathy

Dengue encephalitis and dengue encephalopathy are frequent neurological complications of systemic dengue virus infection. Neuroimaging is normal in approximately 50% of patients. Common imaging abnormalities involve periventricular structures, including the basal ganglion, thalamus, and periventricular white matter. We describe an unusual case of dengue encephalopathy with unilateral imaging abnormalities involving the right cerebral hemisphere and mimicking the involvement of the right middle cerebral artery.

Spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage associated with dengue fever: An emerging concern for general physicians

Dengue fever (DF) is an arboviral disease caused by a positive-sense RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus. The overall incidence of DF has increased exponentially worldwide over the last three decades. The atypical clinical manifestations of DF grouped under expanded dengue syndrome (EDS), have also been reported more frequently for the last decade. These unusual manifestations are usually associated with coinfections, comorbidities, or complications of prolonged shock. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is one of the rare manifestations of the central nervous system involvement by dengue as a part of EDS. The pathogenesis and treatment of this manifestation also remain controversial. Therefore, we report a case of a previously healthy 65-year-old female who developed ICH as a part of EDS along with a brief review of literature.

Cortical laminar necrosis in dengue encephalitis-a case report

Background

Dengue encephalitis is a rare neurological manifestation of dengue fever. Its clinical presentation is similar to other viral encephalitides and encephalopathy. No single specific finding on magnetic resonance imaging of dengue encephalitis has yet been documented. They are highly variable and atypical.

Case presentation

A 15-year boy presented with fever, the headache and altered sensorium of 12-day duration. On neurological examination, his Glasgow Coma Scale score was 10 (E3M4V3). There was no focal neurological deficit. Laboratory evaluation revealed leukopenia and marked thrombocytopenia. Dengue virus IgM antibody was positive both in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed signal changes in bilateral parietooccipital and left frontal regions (left hemisphere more involved than the right hemisphere). There was gyriform enhancement bilateral parietooccipital regions consistent with cortical laminar necrosis. Bilaterally diffuse subcortical white matter was also involved and subtle T2 hyperintensity involving both basal ganglia was noted. Gradient echo sequence revealed presence of hemorrhage in the subcortical white matter. Patient was treated conservatively and received platelet transfusion. Patient became fully conscious after 7 days.

Conclusion

In a patient with highly suggestive dengue e\ephalitis, we describe an unusual magnetic resonance imaging finding. This report is possibly the first instance of cortical laminar necrosis in such a setting.