A multicenter study of clinical presentations and predictive factors for severe manifestation of dengue in adults

Abstract

Severe dengue is more prevalent in adults than in children. Our objectives were to determine the clinical presentations of dengue in adults and to identify predictive factors for severe dengue. A retrospective cohort study was performed in adults with dengue, as confirmed by a positive NS1 antigen test result. Patients were classified as with non-severe or severe dengue. A total of 357 patients were enrolled; 45.4% were men, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) age of 27.9 (21.8–43.5) years. Of all patients, 28.3% had warning signs and 10.6% had severe dengue. Patients with severe dengue were significantly older (35.1 [26.2–50.6] vs. 26.7 [21.7–43.3] years, P = 0.010), immunocompromised (7.9% vs. 0.9%, P = 0.018), and had cough (29% vs. 16%, P = 0.046), hepatomegaly (10.5% vs. 3.1%, P = 0.050), impaired consciousness (5.3% vs. 0%, P = 0.011) or higher (IQR) alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (151 [57–295] vs. 66 [37–114] U/L, P = 0.008). By multivariate analysis, having cough (odds ratio [OR], 8.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.51–30.16, P = 0.001) and ALT > 120 U/L (OR, 3.51; 95% CI, 1.11–11.14, P = 0.033) were predictors of severe dengue. Early recognition of risk variables may be important for healthcare providers to appropriately manage dengue patients.