Clinical and hepatic evaluation in adult dengue patients: a prospective two-month cohort study

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Ricardo Tristão-Sá, Claire Fernandes Kubelka, Eliana Zandonade, Sônia Maria Oliveira Zagne, Natally de Souza Maciel Rocha, Luiza Oliveira Zagne, Nathália Félix Araújo, Beatriz Amin, Flávia Fazoli, Luiz José de Souza, Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz, Rivaldo Venâncio da Cunha, Delso do Nascimento, Íris Bucher Froes, Rita Maria Ribeiro Nogueira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2012
• Subjects: Dengue; Disfunção hepática; Persistência de sintomas; Estudo prospectivo; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0037-86822012000600004; https://doaj.org/article/a98c6adbb0094ec3825bd04a334da4dc

INTRODUCTION: To analyze the liver dysfunction and evolution of signs and symptoms in adult dengue patients during a two-month follow-up period. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from January to July, 2008. The evolution of laboratory and clinical manifestations of 90 adult dengue patients was evaluated in five scheduled visits within a two-month follow-up period. Twenty controls were enrolled for the analysis of liver function. Patients with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, those known to be human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive and pregnant women were excluded from the study. RESULTS: At the end of the second month following diagnosis, we observed that symptoms persisted in 33.3% (30/90) of dengue patients. We also observed that, 57.7% (15/26) of the symptoms persisted at the end of the second month. The most persistent symptoms were arthralgia, fatigue, weakness, adynamia, anorexia, taste alteration, and hair loss. Prior dengue virus (DENV) infection did not predispose patients to a longer duration of symptoms. Among hepatic functions, transaminases had the most remarkable elevation and in some cases remained elevated up to the second month after the disease onset. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels overcame aspartate aminotransferase (AST) during the convalescent period. Male patients were more severely affected than females. CONCLUSIONS: Dengue fever may present a wide number of symptoms and elevated liver transaminases at the end of the second month.