Dengue Awareness in TAMIL| டெங்கு காய்ச்சல் |Dengue symptoms |Prevention of Dengue|Dengue treatment
Channel: NammaRadio
Date: 08/10/2017

Dengue Treatment & Management.

Approach Considerations

Dengue fever is usually a self-limited illness. There is no specific antiviral treatment currently available for dengue fever. The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided a number of free publications about dengue.

Single-dose methylprednisolone showed no mortality benefit in the treatment of dengue shock syndrome in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. [69] The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) in Singapore is carrying out research to find inhibitors of dengue viral target proteins to reduce the viral load during active infection. [70]

Suspected Dengue

Oral rehydration therapy is recommended for patients with moderate dehydration caused by high fever and vomiting. Patients with known or suspected dengue fever should have their platelet count and hematocrit measured daily from the third day of illness until 1-2 days after defervescence. Patients with clinical signs of dehydration and patients with a rising hematocrit level or falling platelet count should have intravascular volume deficits replaced under close observation. Those who improve can continue to be monitored in an outpatient setting, and those who do not improve should be admitted to the hospital for continued hydration.

Patients who develop signs of dengue hemorrhagic fever warrant closer observation. Admission for intravenous fluid administration is indicated for patients who develop signs of dehydration, such as the following:

Tachycardia

Prolonged capillary refill time

Cool or mottled skin

Diminished pulse amplitude

Altered mental status

Decreased urine output

Rising hematocrit

Narrowed pulse pressure

Hypotension
Successful management of severe dengue requires careful attention to fluid management and proactive treatment of hemorrhage. Admission to an intensive care unit is indicated for patients with dengue shock syndrome.

Patients may need a central intravenous line for volume replacement and an arterial line for accurate blood pressure monitoring and frequent blood tests. Exercise caution when placing intravascular catheters because of the increased bleeding complications of dengue hemorrhagic fever. Urethral catheterization may be useful to strictly monitor urine output.

Intravascular volume deficits should be corrected with isotonic fluids such as Ringer lactate solution. Boluses of 10-20 mL/kg should be given over 20 minutes and may be repeated. If this fails to correct the deficit, the hematocrit value should be determined. If it is rising, limited clinical information suggests that a plasma expander may be administered. Starch, dextran 40, or albumin 5% at a dose of 10-20 mL/kg may be used. One study has suggested that starch may be preferable because of hypersensitivity reactions to dextran. [71]

If the patient does not improve after infusion of a plasma expander, blood loss should be considered. Patients with internal or gastrointestinal bleeding may require transfusion, and patients with coagulopathy may require fresh frozen plasma.

After patients with dehydration are stabilized, they usually require intravenous fluids for no more than 24-48 hours. Intravenous fluids should be stopped when the hematocrit falls below 40% and adequate intravascular volume is present. At this time, patients reabsorb extravasated fluid and are at risk for volume overload if intravenous fluids are continued. Do not interpret a falling hematocrit value in a clinically improving patient as a sign of internal bleeding.

Platelet and fresh frozen plasma transfusions may be required to control severe bleeding. A case report demonstrated good improvement following intravenous anti-D globulin administration in 2 patients. The authors proposed that, as in immune thrombocytopenic purpura from disorders other than dengue, intravenous anti-D produces Fcγ receptor blockade to raise platelet counts. [72]

Patients who are resuscitated from shock rapidly recover. Patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome may be discharged from the hospital when they meet the following criteria:

Afebrile for 24 hours without antipyretics

Good appetite, clinically improved condition

Adequate urine output

Stable hematocrit level

At least 48 hours since recovery from shock

No respiratory distress

Platelet count greater than 50,000 cells/μL

Pregnant patients

Dengue in pregnancy must be carefully differentiated from preeclampsia. An overlap of signs and symptoms, including thrombocytopenia, capillary leak, impaired liver function, ascites, and decreased urine output may make this clinically challenging. Pregnant women with dengue fever respond well to the usual therapy of fluids, rest, and antipyretics. However, 3 cases of maternal death due to dengue fever in the third trimester have been reported. An awareness of the clinical and laboratory manifestations of dengue in pregnancy should allow its early recognition and the institution o