Mujeebur Rehman Abid Butt, Muzammil Shahzad, Amir Iqbal, Semaab.
Dengue fever outbreak 2010: clinical experience in a teaching hospital of Lahore Pakistan.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;5(2):265-9.

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings and the outcome of patients presented to a teaching hospital in recent dengue outbreak in Lahore. Study design: An observational study Place and duration of study: Nawaz Sharif Social Security Teaching Hospital Lahore. Patients and methods: All patients above 12 years of age presented to the hospital having typical features of Dengue Fever according to WHO criteria were included. They were either admitted or kept in outpatient clinic follow up. All underwent hematological investigations according to protocol. All the patients were divided into two groups; dengue proven and dengue probable depending upon the positivity of the dengue serology. Patients having features, both clinical or laboratory consistent with other febrile ailments were excluded from the study. Study spans between 1st September 2010 to 30th November 2010. Results: Total 100 patients were included. Male to female ratio was 67:33. All patients either had fever on presentation or had recent history of fever. Majority of patients were in age bracket of 12-45 years (71%), while dengue serology was positive in 68% of patients. Overall myalgia, headache, and vomiting were the three most common symptoms present in 69%, 62% and 44% of patients respectively while encephalopathy was observed in 9% of patients. Thrombocytopenia, leucopenia and deranged liver function tests were present in 95%, 77% and 80.88% of patients. Concordance of clinical and laboratory features has been observed in dengue proven and dengue probable cases. Conclusion: There is a variable manifestations of dengue fever but keen index of suspicion especially during the peak season of disease helps in reaching to the diagnosis irrespective of negative serological diagnosis.

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