Timely detection of dengue fever in infants

This is an automatically translated article.

During the peak season of dengue epidemic, the infectious disease department at hospitals recorded many cases of hospitalized pediatric patients, especially dengue fever in infants. Dengue fever presenting in infants is often difficult to assess and recognize symptoms, but the disease is severe.

1. Danger of dengue fever in babies

Usually dengue fever is a common disease in children, most commonly in the age group of 4-9 years old. However, in recent times, dengue fever in infants under 1 year of age has also begun to appear, accounting for about 5-6% of the total number of children with dengue fever according to the statistics of Children's Hospital 1. Dengue fever in infants is thought to be particularly dangerous because of its high mortality rate.
Clinically, dengue presenting in infants is difficult to diagnose because the infants are too young to describe the symptoms in the body. Furthermore, the clinical manifestations of dengue in neonates are similar to those of other diseases, so it is easy to confuse them. The disease is also quite complicated, easy to get worse, difficult to predict the time of onset of shock as well as difficult to predict the treatment outcome.
On the other hand, the severity of dengue in infants is also caused by biological characteristics of this age group, specifically:
The proportion of epidemics that account for the majority of body weight; Correspondingly, the minimum daily translation demand is very large; Cardiovascular system and kidney function are still developing, so they are poorly adapted to disorders; Vulnerable to premature cardiovascular dysfunction, as well as fluid overload due to increased capillary wall permeability than other subjects. In summary, treating severe cases of dengue in infants is not as straightforward as in older patients. The course of dengue in the neonate is not only unpredictable, but moreover, it is very difficult to establish an intravenous line (difficult to obtain a vein) for the infant. Therefore, children have to inject many times, which can easily lead to bruises and skin bleeding, even triggering severe coagulation disorders later on.

2. Recognizing dengue fever in infants

Similar to older children and adults, dengue presents in infants with typical symptoms, including:
Sudden and persistent high fever; Skin hemorrhage; Vomiting blood; Gastrointestinal bleeding; Less urination, edema. However, there are very few cases of babies with nosebleeds or bleeding gums. Most dengue in infants causes the baby's liver to have the same enlarged liver as in older children. Meanwhile, shock may appear from the 3rd to the 6th day of illness. In addition to dengue fever presenting common symptoms, there are other signs, which are atypical and occur with low incidence, such as:
Splenomegaly; Convulsions; Drowsiness, coma; Nonspecific symptoms: Cough, runny nose, and diarrhea. Dengue fever in newborns often confuses parents and even doctors with other diseases such as:
Sepsis; Meningitis; Respiratory tract infections; Gastrointestinal infections... When a newborn has a fever, it is easy for parents and caregivers to be subjective, bringing the baby to the hospital late, leading to untimely treatment. Therefore, during the peak of the epidemic season, if a child has any of the above-listed symptoms, it must also be suspected that the signs of dengue fever are present in the newborn. Relatives should quickly take the child with a high fever to a reputable hospital with a pediatric specialty to be examined and diagnosed.

3. Care and follow-up of infants with dengue fever

The doctor can decide whether an infant with dengue fever should be hospitalized or treated as an outpatient. High-risk groups need to stay in the hospital for observation, otherwise they will be taken home to care for cases of dengue fever in infants but not in shock.
Parents should pay attention to giving children fever-reducing medicine exactly as prescribed by the doctor, usually when the child has a high fever above 38 degrees Celsius. Paracetamol syrup or powder package mixed with water is very suitable for babies because of its effectiveness. Fast, effective within 30 minutes and lasting 4-6 hours, with few side effects. The standard dose is 10 to 15 mg/kg/time, repeated every 4-6 hours if the infant is still febrile.
In addition, parents with small children with dengue fever should pay attention to properly care for the child, refer to the following:
Dress the child in a thin, cotton clothes to help the body radiate heat. and antipyretic; Give your child plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration due to fever; Drink milk normally or in small portions; Follow up every day according to the doctor's appointment.

4. Pay attention to severe dengue fever

So far, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for dengue fever in infants, so adults need to actively protect babies from mosquito bites. Because it is difficult to recognize dengue fever in children at first, it leads to delayed detection and treatment. In addition, the weak resistance in children causes the disease to get worse quickly and for a long time. Newborns with dengue fever are prone to loss of strength and difficulty in recovering, and in many cases even have unfortunate consequences.
That's why parents need to quickly bring their children to the hospital for urgent treatment by doctors when they see that the child has a fever for more than 2 days and their relatives detect one of the following serious warning signs:
Vomiting a lot time; Vomiting blood; Black stools; Cold hands and feet; skin rash; Drowsiness, lethargy, irritability, constant crying; Infants who quit breastfeeding. Dengue fever in infants is considered a special clinical form that parents and medical teams must pay special attention to. Considering the presentation of dengue symptoms and early diagnosis, aggressive treatment, as well as good nursing care are the main factors that help reduce the mortality rate of children from dengue disease at a young age. new-born.
Pediatrics department at Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for receiving and examining diseases that infants and young children are susceptible to: viral fever, bacterial fever, otitis media, pneumonia in children, .... With modern equipment, sterile space, minimizing the impact as well as the risk of disease spread. Along with that is the dedication from the doctors with professional experience with pediatric patients, making the examination no longer a concern of the parents.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.