Echinocytes in the peripheral blood of patients infected with dengue virus may be a predictor of disease severity
Article Category: Brief communication (Original)
Published Online: Aug 31, 2017
Page range: 49 - 53
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.1101.538
Keywords
© 2017 Samadhi Patamatamkul, Sukanya Chukanhom
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Background
Echinocytes have been demonstrated as sequelae to serum high-density lipoprotein decreases in patients with liver disease, but not to our knowledge in dengue virus infection.
Objective
To investigate any association between echinocytosis and dengue infection.
Methods
We retrospectively studied a cross-section of patients at Mahasarakham University Hospital infected with dengue in August 2015. Infection was diagnosed clinically, and by rapid immunochromatography when nonstructural protein 1 antigen, or IgM or IgG antibodies were detected in the serum. We used World Health Organization 2009 and 2011 criteria to define dengue severity. We examined peripheral blood smears made before and after defervescence.
Result
Two patients had warning signs, 6 did not, 1 had dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), and 7 had uncomplicated dengue fever (DF). The ages of patients with and without warning signs was not significantly different (
Conclusion
Echinocytosis may be associated with severe disease.