Autoimmune manifestations in patients with dengue. Casuistry in the Departamento de Medicina Interna of the Hospital Nacional, Paraguay

Abstract

Introduction: in recent years, more and more autoimmune manifestations related to dengue infection have been reported. Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of infected female mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, it is common in tropical and subtropical countries around the world. Objective: to report the clinical characteristics of autoimmune manifestations in patients infected with dengue virus admitted to the Hospital Nacional. Methodology: observational, descriptive and retrospective study of cases of patients with dengue virus infection hospitalized during the dengue epidemic 2016, 2019 until July 2020, in the Departamento de Medicina Interna of the Hospital Nacional. The diagnosis of dengue virus infection was made, based on the clinical picture, the NS1 antigen and the positive IgM serology. Results: we present seven cases. Three patients (two women and one man) had neurological manifestations, one woman developed isolated optic neuritis, two presented Guillian-Barré syndrome, one case in the course of dengue infection and the other with asymptomatic dengue. Four patients presented hematological manifestations, 2 with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a woman presented with thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura, with a good response with plasmapheresis sessions, a woman with immune thrombocytopenic purpura, presented relapse of the disease on day 7 of the dengue infection. Conclusion: Guillain – Barré syndrome and hemolytic anemia were the most frequent autoimmune manifestations.