Approach to Early Diagnosis of Dengue Fever Based on Clinical Features and Biochemical Markers

Dengue fever is very common tropical disease worldwide. Early diagnosis of dengue aids in its timely management and thus improves morbidity and mortality of dengue infected patients. This study is aimed at how to diagnose dengue at earliest based on clinical and biochemical markers.

In this study, a total of 50 adult patients presenting with clinical features of dengue were enrolled from January 2017 to June 2017. Diagnosis was confirmed with NS1Ag and later by IgM ELISA.

NS1 positivity was 70%, whereas sensitivity and specificity in predicting dengue infection were 94% and 90% respectively. Young males were predominantly affected. Clinical features such as retro-orbital pain, myalgia, arthralgia, rashes, bleeding manifestations, jaundice, oedema, hypotension, altered sensorium, thrombocytopenia and raised creatinine were significantly associated with NS1 positivity.

We conclude that dengue infection, a serious public health problem, can be diagnosed early based on the above described clinical features supported by NS1 positivity.