Epidemiological and clinical characterization of adults in the atlantic coast of Honduras

Abstract

Introduction: Dengue is an infectious disease caused by the Dengue virus, one of the four serotypes of the virus (DENV). Currently it is one of the major public health problems at the national level and in the region of the Americas. Objectives: To determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of adult with dengue, Hospital Tela, January to December 2019. Methods: retrospective and descriptive study, clinical records of adult patients attended in Hospital Tela, Atlántida in 2019, with epidemiological and clinical diagnosis of dengue were reviewed. Results: 276 cases were evaluated. The mean age was 37 years, female sex 57.3% (158). According to the Severity Classification of the Pan American Health Organization, 58.3% (161) were classified as Dengue with Warning Signs. The most frequent signs and symptoms were fever 100% (276), arthralgia 90.2% (249), myalgia 89.9% (248), headache 79.4% (219). The 92% (254) presented leukopenia from the second day and thrombocytopenia 92.8% (267) from the first day of illness. Only 6.9% (19) had laboratory results from which were positive 0.7% (2) RT-PCR, IgM serology 1.8% (5) and IgG 1.4% (4). Discussion: The most common clinical and epidemiological presentation was young women without personal history of diseases, classified as dengue with warning signs. Patients presented thrombocytopenia from the first day of the disease. The characterization is limited by the absence of laboratory confirmation. Correlation with multicenter studies is required in the future.