Clinical Manifestations and Laboratory Profile of Dengue Fever among the Patient's General Hospital, Penang

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical presentation of dengue fever among the patients admitted to the Public Hospital Pulau Penang, Malaysia.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was planned to attain the objective of this study. Retrospective analysis of the records was conducted, all the confirmed cases registered from Jan 2007 till Dec 2007 were the part of study. Data collection was conducted using a structured data collection form cover the information about the demographic, clinical presentation, lab features and management of patients. Results: A total of N=756 cases were the part of study; myalgia was the frequently observed 148 (57.6%) symptom for the dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), followed by hepatomegally 50 (19.5%) and in cardiac complications myocarditis was observed 4 (1.6%) in DHF cases. While bleeding from gums (16.7%), epigastric pain 5 (83.3%), ascites and pleural effusion 1 (16.7%) were the clinical features observed in Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). Lab investigations have showed that Hess test was found positive for 88 (34.2%) patients diagnosed with DHF.

Conclusion: Conclusion DF, DHF and DSS should be considered in a differential diagnosis of febrile illness in patient's, DHF and DSS are complications of dengue which is required early identification in association with thoroughly monitoring and basic supportive care to save the life of the patients. It is compulsory to monitor strictly thrombocytopenia, haemo-concentration and liver profile on routine basis.