RESUMO
Background: Dengue fever is the most rapidly spreading mosquito borne viral disease worldwide. It is estimated that the incidence has increased 30-fold over the last five decades. Recently, the reappearance of dengue in the pediatric population is a matter of concern among pediatricians, especially due to the presence of atypical features, leading to delayed diagnosis. There are few studies regarding the changing trendof paediatric dengue patients due to under reporting of the cases.Material & Methods:This prospective study was conducted among forty-five paediatric dengue patients below 15 years of age(n=45)at MH Samorita Hospital & Medical College, Dhaka over a period of 6 months from July 2021 to December 2021. Neonates and patients with co-infection were not included in the study. All clinical and laboratory details were collected during their hospital stay in a structured questionare form.Results:Forty-five paediatric dengue patients below 15 years of age were enrolled in the study (n=45). Out of the 45 cases 35 patients were non-severe dengue (undifferentiated fever, dengue fever with warning signs, and dengue fever without warning signs) and 10 patients were of severe dengue (DHF and DSS) according to WHO guidelines. The male to female ratio was 1.6: 1 in our study group. The majority of the cases 25 (55.5%) were within 6 to 10 years of age. Patients having features of severe dengue were also seen mostly (17.7%) in this age group. The mean age of hospitalized patients was 8.9 years. In our study there were 16 patients (35.6%) with classical dengue fever, 23 (51.1%) patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever without shock and 6 patients (13.3%) with features of dengue shock syndrome. Atypical clinical features were seen in 17 cases (37.8%). The most common atypical features found in twelve children were acalculous cholecystitis (26.7%). Renal impairment and hepatitis were present in 17.8% and 13.3% of patients. Among neurological manifestations two patients (4.4%) developed impaired consciousness and one patient (2.2%) had seizure. Conclusion:Atypical manifestations of DF can be fatal in many paediatric patients. There should be a high index ofsuspicion among clinicians for timely detection and management of atypicalmanifestation of severe dengue infection to prevent mortality.