Cardiac manifestations of Dengue in children: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Objectives: Primary objective: To estimate the proportion of cardiac manifestations in children with
Dengue admitted to hospital. Secondary objective: To describe the pattern of cardiac manifestations in
children with Dengue admitted to hospital. Methods: Hospital-based cross-sectional study done over two
years in children admitted with Dengue. Children were subjected to clinical examination, electrocardiograph
and echocardiography, during defervescence and when Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) or Dengue
Shock Syndrome (DSS) was diagnosed based on WHO criteria. The information obtained was analysed
using SPSS version 11.5. Results: The proportion of cardiac manifestations in children admitted with
Dengue in our study was 30%. Relative bradycardia, clinically asymptomatic pericardial effusion, left
ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 50%, and global hypokinesia on echocardiography was
among our study's common cardiac manifestations. Conclusions: Asymptomatic, clinically silent cardiac
involvement can occur in significant proportion of children with severe Dengue i.e.in, DHF and DSS.The
cardiac involvement in Dengue in children is highly protean, can vary from relative bradycardia, minimal
pericardial effusion to the more severe global hypokinesia, and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction on
echocardiography.