Is there an overestimation of dengue compared with that of other acute febrile syndromes in childhood?

Autor: Rocha SMCD; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Graduate Program in Medical Sciences, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.; Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Pires RC; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Monteiro DCS; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Graduate Program in Medical Sciences, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR/RENORBIO), Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology, Ceará State University, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Cronemberges TCR; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Souza NV; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR/RENORBIO), Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology, Ceará State University, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Colares JKB; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Graduate Program in Medical Sciences, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Lima DM; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Graduate Program in Medical Sciences, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.; University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR/RENORBIO), Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology, Ceará State University, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PLoS neglected tropical diseases [PLoS Negl Trop Dis] 2024 Jun 07; Vol. 18 (6), pp. e0012137. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 07 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012137
Abstrakt: A group of children with clinical suspicion of dengue were assessed to determine if there was an overestimation of dengue compared with that of leptospirosis and leishmaniasis. This descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study, based on the active search of participants with acute febrile illness, was conducted at two pediatric hospitals. The collection of clinical and epidemiological data was performed using questionnaires, and laboratory tests specific for dengue were performed using immunochromatographic, serological, and molecular methods. Dengue-negative samples were assessed for Leptospira and Leishmania spp. using molecular tests. Data were assessed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), the chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. In total, 86 participants were evaluated, of whom 39 (45%) were positive for dengue fever, 4 (5%) for leptospirosis, and 1 (1%) for leishmaniasis. Forty-two participants (49%) presented dengue-like symptoms. The predominant age range for the virus was 3-10 years. Most clinical manifestations were nonspecific, with frequent concomitant gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms. Furthermore, we found that the acute febrile syndrome in childhood persists as a challenge for health professionals, especially in the early days of the disease, due to a plurality of diagnostic hypotheses, associated with the difficulty of establishing well-defined symptoms in children, especially in infants. Dengue fever continues to be a frequent pathology with acute febrile infections in childhood; however, there is an overestimation of the disease, especially in endemic regions, when one considers only the clinical epidemiological diagnosis.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Rocha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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