einstein (São Paulo). 11/Apr/2024;22:eAO0546.

Analysis of signs and symptoms in confirmed cases of severe dengue among children aged 0 to 10 years old

Álvaro Silvério Avelino da

Silva

, Francisco Leal

Carvalho

, Giovanna Araújo

Pinto

, Laís Silva Rios

Saad

, Mariana Oliveira

Curado

, Thais Caroline Dallabona

Dombroski

, Hugo Dias

Hoffmann-Santos

, Rosa Maria

Elias

DOI: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2024AO0546

Highlights

The average age was 4.34±2.56 years.
Highest prevalence in Brown and White races.
Highest prevalence rate was found in the Southeast, followed by the Central-West and South.
The majority of analyzed cases progressed to hospitalization.
Prevalent respiratory failure, hematemesis, and melena are associated with both.
Prevalence of changes in the level of consciousness, which is important at the central nervous system level.

ABSTRACT

Objective:

The prevalent symptoms of severe dengue in pediatric patients are divided into three subgroups: severe plasma leakage, severe bleeding, and severe organ damage. In addition, the seasonal patterns of the disease and the outcomes of cure or death from dengue were evaluated.

Methods:

An epidemiological, observational, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted with data from the Notifiable Disease Information System ( SINAN Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação and DATASUS Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde of the Ministry of Health from 2019 to 2020.

Results:

During the study period, 1,857 cases of severe dengue were observed in the pediatric age group, with the most common symptoms being respiratory failure, melena, hematemesis, and altered level of consciousness. The total proportion of patients hospitalized for severe dengue was 89.6%, and 51.2% of these patients died, corroborating the importance of early detection of the disease.

Conclusion:

Severe dengue is more prevalent during the seasonal period, with hot and humid characteristics owing to the mechanism involved in the viral cycle. The most prevalent symptoms of severe dengue in pediatric patients were respiratory failure alone, gastrointestinal bleeding, and altered level of consciousness. It is important to identify signs of severity for early intervention and a better prognosis, considering that death is closely related to a delayed diagnosis.

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