ABSTRACT
Dengue is a mosquito-borne febrile disease caused by any of the four serotypes of the dengue virus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. To study the clinical manifestations and treatment practices of Dengue cases in Pakistan. Retrospective record based analysis of dengue cases was performed in 3 general hospitals of Punjab during the 2010 outbreak. Only confirmed dengue IgM [ELISA] cases were further analyzed. WHO guidelines were used to evaluate the method of diagnosis and treatment. A total of 125 suspected dengue cases were admitted in these hospitals out of which dengue IgM was positive in 68 cases. Out of 68 cases, 60[88.2%] were of dengue fever and 8[11.8%] were dengue hemorrhage fever. Tourniquet test was not performed in any case. Sixty [88.8%] cases were males. The ages of the patients ranged from 4-60 years. Sixty five patients [96%] had fever followed by myalgia in 48[70%], headache in 33[48.8%], vomiting in 30[44.8%], weakness in 48[38.4%] and abdominal pain in 25[20%] cases. Thrombocytopenia was present in 60 cases [88.8%]. In 54[43.2%] cases platelet count was below 50,000. Leucopenia was present in 45 cases [66.4%]. Analgesics were prescribed in 52 cases. Fluid replacement therapy was used in 59[87.2%] which consisted of either dextrose water or ringer's lactate or normal saline. Antibiotics were prescribed in 47 cases. WHO guidelines were not followed in the diagnosis and management of these cases. WHO guidelines for the diagnosis and management of dengue fever were not followed thus leading to unnecessary treatment and waste of resources