[Dengue infection: A common cause of febrile syndrome in patients from Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia]. / Infección por dengue: una causa frecuente de síndrome febril en pacientes de Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia.

INTRODUCTION: Quibdó, a municipality in Chocó, has poor public services and weather and social conditions that favor dengue transmission. However, there are few studies about this problem in this district. OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of dengue infection in patients with acute febrile syndrome and to compare clinical features among dengue infected patients with other febrile diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January, 2008, to March, 2010. The study population comprised patients with febrile syndrome of seven or fewer days of evolution, recruited from hospitals in the town. Dengue diagnosis was made in serum samples by detection of IgM antibodies, NS1 antigen, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation. Clinical and laboratory information from the patients was obtained. RESULTS: During the study period, 469 patients with acute febrile syndrome were recruited, of whom 98.3% were Afro-descendant. Dengue fever was found in 28.4% of the cases. Four dengue serotypes were identified with DENV-1 predominance. The ages ranged from zero to 76 years. From all patients, 70.7% of cases were classified as dengue without warning signs. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cough, nasal congestion and sore throat were significantly more frequent in patients with another febrile disease. CONCLUSIONS: Active surveillance of the acute febrile syndrome allowed for the detection of undiagnosed cases of dengue; the observed frequency of this infection suggests that the study area has a high risk of dengue infection.

Factores asociados a extravasación plasmática en pacientes con dengue de Antioquia y Chocó entre el 2000 y 2013. Colombia / Associated factors to plasma leakage in dengue patients from Antioquia and Chocó between 2000 and 2013. Colombia

Introducción: la extravasación del plasma es la manifestación más severa de la enfermedad producida por los virus del dengue y que con mayor frecuencia conduce al estado de choque. Se caracteriza por derrames serosos a nivel de diversas cavidades y aumento del hematocrito. Se realizó el presente estudio con el objetivo de determinar los factores sociodemográficos, clínicos y de laboratorio que más se asocian a la presencia de extravasación plasmática en los pacientes con dengue. Materiales y métodos: estudio observacional analítico transversal, analizado bajo la metodología de casos y controles, a partir de registros clínicos de pacientes con dengue. Se utilizaron prueba Chi cuadrado de Pearson, prueba exacta de Fisher, prueba no paramétrica U de Mann-Whitney y un modelo de regresión logística multivariado de factores asociados. Fueron calculados los Odds Ratio con su intervalo de confianza al 95 %. Se consideró un nivel de significancia de 5 %. Resultados: fueron analizados un total de 350 registros, de los cuales 128 presentaron signos de extravasación plasmática (36,6 %). Después de ajustar por factores de confusión se observó que las variables que más se asocian a presencia de extravasación plasmática en los pacientes con dengue fueron el dolor abdominal, la leucopenia y las melenas. Conclusión: estos hallazgos clínicos y de laboratorio deben ser priorizados en su vigilancia en la atención al paciente con dengue, para identificar los casos con mayor probabilidad de extravasación plasmática para su manejo oportuno y adecuado.

Introduction: Plasma leakage is the most severe complication caused by dengue virus infection and is also the mechanism that frequently leads to dengue shock syndrome. Plasma leakage is characterized by ascites, pleural and pericardial effusion and increased hematocrit level. The present study was conducted to identify socio-demographic, clinical and laboratory factors that more are associated to the presence of plasma leakage in dengue infected patients. Materials and methods: A cross sectional analytic study was performed on clinical records from dengue infected patients using the casecontrol methodology. Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney's non-parametric U test and a multivariate logistic regression model of associated factors were used to evaluate the data. Odd Ratios with 95 % confidence intervals were calculated and significance level of 5 % was considered. Results: A total of 350 clinical records were analyzed, 128 cases (36.6 %) presented signs of plasma leakage. After adjustments by confounding factors, we observed that abdominal pain, leukopenia and melena were the variables that explain the presence of plasma leakage in dengue infected patients. Conclusion: During the follow-up of dengue infected patients priority should be given to the survey of these clinical and laboratory findings in order to identify the cases with higher probabilities of developing plasma leakage, allowing achieving more timely and appropriate management.

Frequency and clinical features of dengue infection in a schoolchildren cohort from medellin, Colombia.

To determine the incidence of dengue infection, we established active surveillance of febrile episodes in a cohort of schoolchildren from three schools in Medellin, Colombia. We followed a cohort of 2,379 schoolchildren in 2010 and followed 1,840 of these children the following year. During the follow-up time, 264 schoolchildren displayed 297 febrile episodes; of these, 23 episodes (7.7%) were caused by acute dengue infection. All four dengue serotypes were found, and all of the cases were mild. The most common symptoms in the dengue cases compared with those in other febrile illness were asthenia (96% versus 87%), anorexia (78% versus 57%), rhinorrhea (65.2% versus 58%), abdominal pain (56.5% versus 47.8%), arthralgia (43% versus 33%), and positive tourniquet test (13% versus 3%). This difference was not statistically significant. Pulse was elevated, and systolic arterial pressure was lower in dengue cases compared with other febrile illness (P < 0.05). Mosquito indexes were determined in 8 children's houses and in the schools. Aedes aegypti adults were found in both households and in schools, whereas Aedes aegypti larvae were found only in schools. These results showed an elevated dengue frequency in children, with symptoms similar to those of other febrile illness and transmission risk in households and schools.