Early predictors of clinically significant bleeding in adults with dengue infection

Abstract

Hemorrhage is an important complication in dengue infection, but early predictors of clinically significant bleeding are undefined. This study aimed to determine clinical factors on admission associated with Type I bleeding, defined as gastrointestinal bleed, hematuria and menorrhagia, among adult patients with dengue infection. We carried out a retrospective study among 277 patients aged > 15 years with serologically-confirmed dengue infection admitted to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Bangkok, Thailand during 2006-2009. Female gender (p < 0.001), vomiting (p=0.05), severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 25x 109/l; p=0.007), high absolute lymphocyte count (ALC > 500; p=0.05) and high aspartate aminotransferase level (AST > 200; p=0.02) were significantly associated with hemorrhage on univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed variables associated with bleeding were female gender [odds ratio (OR) 14.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.16-0.56, p < 0.001], thrombocytopenia (OR 4.7; 95%CI 0.13-0.9, p=0.03) and ALC > 500 (OR 5.7; 95%CI 1.17-4.99, p=0.02). These data identify patients at high risk for developing clinically significant bleeding with dengue infection.