Characteristics of Patients With Severe Dengue Admitted in Critical Care Units at Villavicencio, Colombia. A Retrospective Observational Trial.
Severe dengue is a cause of admission to critical care, especially in pediatric cases, and during epidemic outbreaks. Fluid support is basically the therapy offered, due to a scarcity of antiviral or immunological options to modulate the disease. Dengue is an endemic condition in tropical and subtropical regions as Villavicencio, and local ICUs provide care to the adult and pediatric population from the city and distant surrounding areas. National and international agencies' clinical guidelines have standard recommendations for the therapy of dengue shock syndrome (DSS), but data about performance is not available. Severity, organ dysfunction, hemorrhagic events, and capillary leak are predictors for decease. There are several epidemiological trials about dengue in the region, although publications about the characteristics of patients in ICU are nearly null. Currently, there is enough human resources and technology in ICU to provide an optimal care in cases of severe dengue. There is a need to recognize most appropriate strategies for the treatment of the disease, and their results, to adjust and provide better outcomes. The aim of the study is to analyze the characteristics of patients with severe dengue admitted to the intensive care unit, to contribute to knowledge and better understanding of the disease in a specific clinical environment. An observational retrospective study will be designed by the analysis of the ICU database of hospitals from Villavicencio, Colombia, since January to May 2023. The records of patients admitted with a diagnose of severe dengue will be exported to Excel for reviewing and debugging. Demographic information, laboratory results, severity scores, and outcomes will be examined. Categorical variables will be described by frequency and proportion; quantitative variables will be defined in a central and dispersion distribution. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U test will be used to compare, according to the characteristics of the outcome. It will be a pioneer study at this region, and it is necessary to determine the characteristics of patients admitted to the intensive care unit, the care provided, and the results of the treatment.
• Patients admitted at a critical care unit with a diagnose of dengue either clinical or by a positive serology or molecular diagnostic methods.