Dengue Epidemic 2019–An Experience in Tertiary care Hospitals of Rawalpindi Medical University Pakistan

Volume 2 - Issue 5

Shazia Zeb, Rizwana Shahid*, Muhammad Umar, Sumaira Yasmeen, Momina Zeb and Irum Kalsoom

Received: February 27, 2020;   Published: March 02, 2020

DOI: 10.32474/LOJNHC.2020.02.000148

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Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of various dengue virus infections in tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi Medical University during dengue epidemic 2019.

Methods: A retrospective hospital data based study was carried out in three tertiary care hospitals (Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Head Quarters Hospital) affiliated with Rawalpindi Medical University during dengue epidemic from September-November 2019. The data was gathered pertinent to demographics of dengue patients, frequency of dengue virus infections and length of hospital stay through convenience sampling. The data was analyzed by means of SPSS version 25.0.

Results: Of the total 12192 dengue patients 73.4% were males and majority of the dengue patients (49%) visited Holy Family Hospital. Mean age of the patients was 36±14.6 years and 62.8% patients were residents of Rawalpindi city. About 54.9% patients had dengue fever, while 42.8% and 2.3% patients had Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) respectively. Majority of dengue patients (73.6%) registered in District Head Quarters hospital had Dengue Fever (DF), while mainstream of dengue hemorrhagic fever 47.7% was found in Holy Family Hospital. Only 2.3% patients had Dengue Shock Syndrome About 80.7% patients with dengue fever had NS1 positive 3% of which did not admit in hospital for treatment. IgM and IgG were positive among 47% and 49.2% dengue patients respectively. However, 28.5% dengue patients had both IgM and IgG positive in their blood serum. Of the total 61 (0.5%) deaths about 61% were males and 60.6% of deaths were among diagnosed cases of Dengue Shock Syndrome.

Conclusion: Dengue virus infections are more prevalent among males residing in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It is deadly but curable. Timely and appropriate management of cases can result in significant reduction of death toll.

Keywords: Dengue Epidemic; Dengue Fever; Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever; Dengue Shock Syndrome; Tertiary Care Hospitals

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