Dengue Mortality in Patients under 18 Years Old: An Analysis from the Health Situation Analysis of Thai Population in 2010 Project
Pagakrong Lumbiganon MD*, Pope Kosalaraksa MD*, Kaewjai Thepsuthammarat PhD**, Sumitr Sutra MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand ** Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Background : Dengue is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In
Thailand, there has been no detailed research on mortality in children in terms of duration of admission and associated
complications in the cases that died.
Objective : To assess the burden of dengue in Thailand in 2010 and to analyze the complications in patients aged under 18
years who died.
Material and Method: The authors described the mortality and complications of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever
in patients under 18 years old using the information from the Health Situation Analysis of the Thai Population 2010 Project.
Results : In 2010, the overall mortality of dengue in all age groups and in patients aged under 18 years were 0.3 and 0.6/
100,000, respectively. The mortality rate was highest among children aged 6-12 years (0.8/100,000). Among the 8 children
with dengue fever that died, the 2 most common complications were fluid electrolyte and acid-base imbalance and disseminated
intravascular coagulation (DIC). The common complications among the 91 cases with dengue hemorrhagic fever that died
included fluid electrolyte and acid-base imbalance, hepatic failure, respiratory failure, bacterial infection, DIC and renal
failure.
Conclusion : Early diagnosis, careful management of fluid therapy, awareness of hepatic and renal impairment and early
treatment of co-infection should decrease mortality of dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Keywords : Dengue, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Mortality, Pediatric
