Dengue: clinical and epidemiological characteristics in people with diabetes, in a hospital in the City of Córdoba

Abstract

Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, prevalent in the region. It has 4 serotypes and affects chronic patients such as diabetics more severely. It presents with mild to disabling fever, headache, erythema, retro-ocular, muscle or joint pain (defined by PAHO as Dengue without warning signs) or can progress to severe forms, with shock, respiratory distress, severe organ damage and/or death (severe dengue). General Objective: Determine the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of diabetic people who presented Dengue. Specific objectives: Establish the percentage of people who had Dengue with and without warning signs and severe Dengue.

Retrospective, observational and descriptive study, the medical records of patients with diabetes who consulted for Dengue at the Misericordia Hospital between February and March 2024 were reviewed. People over 18 years of age of both sexes were included. Clinical data (fever, headache, body pain, vomiting, hemorrhagic syndromes or shock) and epidemiological data (age, sex, address, travel, previous dengue, similar cases and number of consultations) were tabulated.

27 patients were enrolled, 11 men and 16 women, average age 45 years. In relation to epidemiology, 85% had contact with similar cases, 70% came from the southern area of ​​the city, 4% reported previous dengue and the same percentage traveled. Clinic: 100% had fever, 96% had body and retro-ocular pain, 92% had headache, 51% had diarrhea, 33% had vomiting, 26% had pruritus/skin rash, 11% had hemorrhagic syndrome (mucocutaneous and gynecological), and 4% had shock. 70% made one consultation and 30% required more than one during follow-up. 92% presented Dengue without warning signs and 8% had severe Dengue.

Until March, Córdoba registered 22,600 cases of Dengue and 24 deaths. In this work, no cases of death were detected in the population studied, although 2 patients presented severe Dengue. Dengue without previous travel (autochthonous) and without a history of Dengue were more frequent, a situation that forces us to carry out actions as an institution at the government and citizen level to eradicate the infection in the community.