COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF CLINICO HEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE IN NS-1 ANTIGEN CONFIRMED DENGUE CASES

Background: Dengue Fever is a self - limiting illness which is spread by the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito. WHO estimates about 50 to 100 million dengue cases every year. Nearly 300,000 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever are reported with 24,000 deaths every year. In India dengue fever has become more frequent in the recent years. Diagnosis mainly depends on NS-1 antigen detection and IgM antibody detection. Aims and Objective: This study aims to assess the correlation between clinical manifestations and haematological profile in the confirmed of dengue. Settings and design: One year hospital based observational study. Materials and Methods: A total of 220 NS-1 dengue positive cases admitted were analysed and correlated with clinical features, haematological and biochemical findings. Statistical analysis used: Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient were used. A probability value i.e, ‘p’ value of equal to or less than 0.05 was considered as significant statistically. Results: Out of 220 dengue patients, 194 were with dengue fever and 26 with dengue haemorrhagic fever. Common clinical features were fever, arthralgia, myalgia, itching, abdominal pain and rash. The main laboratory findings were thrombocytopenia, raised hematocrit, leucopenia, raised SGPT, SGOT and serum alkaline phosphatase. Conclusion: Dengue fever continues to be a significant health problem. It is important to correlate clinical examination with laboratory profile in dengue patients to minimize the morbidity and mortality arising out of serious complications of dengue fever.