Dengue induced acute liver failure: A meta summary of case reports

BACKGROUND

Dengue fever is the most common cause of viral hemorrhagic fever, with more than 400 million cases being reported annually, worldwide. Even though hepatic involvement is common, acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare complication of dengue fever.

AIM

To analyze the demographic profile, symptomology, hospital course and outcomes of patients presenting with ALF secondary to dengue infection by reviewing the published case reports.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed from multiple databases including PubMed, Reference Citation Analysis, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. The search terms used were "dengue" OR "severe dengue" OR "dengue shock syndrome" OR "dengue haemorrhagic syndrome" OR "dengue fever" AND "acute liver failure" OR "hepatic failure" OR "liver injury". The inclusion criteria were: (1) Case reports or case series with individual patient details; (2) Reported acute liver failure secondary to dengue infection; and (3) Published in English language and on adult humans. The data were extracted for patient demographics, clinical symptomatology, clinical interventions, hospital and intensive care unit course, need for organ support and clinical outcomes.

RESULTS

Data from 19 case reports fulfilling the predefined inclusion criteria were included. The median age of patients was 38 years (inter quartile range: Q3-Q1 26.5 years) with a female preponderance (52.6%). The median days from diagnosis of dengue to development of ALF was 4.5 d. The increase in aspartate aminotransferase was higher than that in alanine aminotransferase (median 4625 U/L vs 3100 U/L). All the patients had one or more organ failure, with neurological failure present in 73.7% cases. 42.1% patients required vasopressor support and hepatic encephalopathy was the most reported complication in 13 (68.4%) cases. Most of the patients were managed conservatively and 2 patients were taken up for liver transplantation. Only 1 death was reported (5.3%).

CONCLUSION

Dengue infection may rarely lead to ALF. These patients may frequently require intensive care and organ support. Even though most of these patients may improve with supportive care, liver transplantation may be a therapeutic option in refractory cases.