Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39609912›Full record

ArticleTropical medicine and health2024

Nine fatal cases of dengue: a case series from an intensive care unit in Sri Lanka.

Pramith Ruwanpathirana, Harindri Athukorala, Thamalee Palliyaguru, Praveen Weeratunga, Dilshan Priyankara

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Article in Tropical medicine and health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Pramith RuwanpathiranaProfessorial Unit in Medicine, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, 00800, Sri Lanka. pramithrp@gmail.com.
Harindri AthukoralaProfessorial Unit in Medicine, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, 00800, Sri Lanka.
Thamalee PalliyaguruProfessorial Unit in Medicine, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, 00800, Sri Lanka.
Praveen WeeratungaDepartment of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Dilshan PriyankaraMedical Intensive Care Unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, 00800, Sri Lanka.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe case fatality rate of untreated dengue is 20%; it can be reduced to less than 1% with optimal management. The leading causes of death in dengue patients are shock, bleeding, and acute liver injury. We describe the clinical features of patients who died of dengue and discuss the therapeutic challenges and pitfalls of complicated dengue.

methodsThis retrospective study was done in the intensive care unit (MICU) of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka over 30 months between 2021 and 2023. All patients who died of serologically confirmed dengue were incorporated.

resultsOf the 1722 ICU admissions, 44 (2.6%) patients were treated for dengue-of them, 11 (25.0%) died. Two patients were excluded as their deaths were not directly linked to dengue. Six were females. The average age was 40.2 years. The leading causes of death included shock (n = 5), acute liver failure (n = 6), intracranial bleeding (n = 2), and pulmonary embolism (n = 1). Patient 1 had concomitant leakage and bleeding, which did not respond to fluids or blood products. He developed fluid overload and acute liver failure (ALF) and died of multiorgan dysfunction. Patients 2-5 were in shock for a prolonged period due to leakage ± bleeding. Patients 2-5 developed ALF and lactic acidosis followed by multiorgan dysfunction. Patient 8 developed acute hepatitis and ALF without preceding shock. The patient was treated with immunosuppressants for myasthenia gravis. Patients 6 and 7 experienced intracranial bleeding. Patient 9 died of pulmonary embolism after prolonged ventilation for dengue encephalitis.

conclusionsProlonged shock, fluid overload and acute liver failure were common causes of dengue related deaths, in our study. Fluid overload occurred when vigorous crystalloid resuscitation was continued in patients who were poorly responding. A prompt switch to colloids or blood could have prevented overload. Patients who were in shock for a prolonged period become unresponsive to fluid resuscitation. How to manage dengue in patients who take anti-inflammatory drugs, immunomodulators, or antiplatelets is not known. Balancing the bleeding risk of dengue in patients predisposed to bleeding or thrombosis is a challenge.

Indexed as

Acute liver failureCase seriesCritical careDeathDengueInfectionShock

Identifiers

PMID39609912
PMCPMC11605893

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