Prediction of Acute Renal Failure in Dengue Fever Patients

Background: Dengue virus (DENV) infection is caused by an arboviral strain and is transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti which is found in Sudan especially Red Sea and Kassala states in the east. The disease is known to cause renal disturbances and a thorough understanding of that 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 infected patients along with 200 healthy appearing adults (control) were enrolled for the study. Statistical analysis was carried out after the collection of patients’ demographic, clinical, and investigational data including serum urea and creatinine values. Ethical approval was obtained from the ministry of health, Red Sea state and informed written consent was obtained from each participant. Results: The highest incidence of DENV infection was observed in individuals of the middle age group (29%). Elevated blood urea levels were detected in 10 (5%) patients while elevated creatinine levels were seen in 17 (8.5%) patients. Although fallen within reference ranges found in the literature, mean blood urea and creatinine values differed significantly between patients and controls and between different categories of the disease. Mean blood urea concentration showed a statistically significant difference between the control (22.3 mg/dl) and the test (28.4 mg/dl) (P value < 0.001). Similarly, mean serum creatinine in the control (0.70 mg/dl) differed significantly (P value < 0.001) from test (0.94 mg/dl). Clinically, fever was present in 97.5% of patients, headache in 95.5%, joints pain in 71%, lethargy in 67%, vomiting in 49%, skin rash in 40%, abdominal pain in 24% and bleeding in 17.5%. Conclusion: We strongly conclude that renal involvement is not uncommon in Dengue fever and that blood urea and creatinine evaluation should be considered in the counseling of DENV infection patients. Patients need to be subjected to necessary laboratory investigations associated with acute kidney injury to decrease the rate of morbidity and mortality associated with the disease.