Prognostic indicators for dengue infection severity / Safiah Baharin

Background: Dengue fever can be classified into three types, which are dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and dengue shock syndrome. This fever can be further categorized into either primary dengue infection or secondary dengue infection. In order to diagnose dengue, there are several tests that can be performed such as serology, biochemical, and hematological. This study is conducted based on hematological study only, where the hematocrit, platelet count and leucocyte count is determined.
Methods: A comparative study is conducted in a general hospital, which is Hospital Sultan Ismail, Johor Bharu. All the data collected from the hospital is compared to determine the severity of the three types of dengue.
Results: The platelet count for all types of dengue is low, leucocyte count is mostly low for dengue fever and normal for dengue hemorrhagic and dengue shock syndrome, and the hematocrit level is mostly normal for all types of dengue.
Conclusion: There is no significant difference on the platelet count, leucocyte count, and hematocrit levels between dengue fever (DF), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).