TITLE:
Significance of Serum Electrolyte Pattern in an Eastern Sudanese Dengue Fever Patients Population
AUTHORS:
Salwa Abd Almoneim Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Omer Abaker Gibreel, Nazik Sir El Khatim Bakhit Suliman, Ali Khider Ali Mohammed, Bakri Yousif Mohamed Nour
KEYWORDS:
Dengue Virus, Hemorrhagic Fever, Dengue Shock Syndrome, Electrolytes, Eastern Sudan
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Microbiology,
Vol.12 No.1,
February
21,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Dengue virus (DENV) infection is caused by an arboviral strain and is
transmitted by the mosquito Aedes Egyties which is found in Sudan especially
Red Sea and Kassala states in the east. In the year 2020 there was a
significant outbreak in the both states. The disease is known to cause renal
and electrolyte disturbances and a thorough understanding of that which will
potentially help in the prediction, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Methods: This study is a prospective observational cross sectional study conducted
in the Eastern Sudan College of Medical Science and Technology and Port Sudan
Teaching Hospital. 200 confirmed Dengue virus infection patients along with 200
healthy appearing adults (as a control) were enrolled for the study. Statistical
analysis was carried out after the collection of patients’ demographic,
clinical, and investigational data including electrolyte values. Results: The
highest incidence of DENV infection was observed in individuals of the middle
age group (29%). Although fallen within reference ranges found in the literature,
mean serum electrolyte values differed significantly between patients and
controls and between different categories of the disease. For our patients, hyponatraemia
was seen in 43.5%, hypokalaemia in 37%, hypocalcaemia in 30%, hypophosphataemia
in 12% and low magnesium concentrations in 13%. Mean serum sodium concentration
differed in the control (138.2 mmol/l) from in the test (132.5 mmol/l) (P.
value 0.02). Similarly, mean serum potassium in the control (3.97 mmol/l)
differed significantly (P. value 0.01) from test (3.30 mmol/l). Mean calcium
and phosphorus (8.80 and 3.50 mg/dl) in the control were also differed from
test (8.51 and 3.30), (P. values 0.02 and 0.004, respectively). In contrast,
serum magnesium (mg/dl) in the control group (1.96) showed no significant
difference from that of test group (1.90) (P. value 0.08). The biochemical
parameters studied were neither affected by age nor by gender of the patient
group. Clinically, fever was present in 97.5% of patient, headache in 95.5%, joints pain in 71%,
lethargy 67%, vomiting in 49%, skin rash in 40%, abdominal pain 24% and
bleeding in 17.5%. Conclusion: We strongly conclude that electrolyte
evaluation should be considered in the counseling of DENV infected patients.
Patients need to be subjected to necessary laboratory investigations including
serum electrolyte levels to decrease the rate of morbidity and mortality
associated with the disease.