Critical care aspects of dengue haemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome.

Between January 1990 and September 1992, thirty patients ranging in age from 7 months to 43 years with a diagnosis of dengue fever (DF) or dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. 21 of these patients were serologically confirmed to have dengue infection by either IgM-capture ELISA andfor haemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests. 8 seropositive patients died. Death resulted from a number of inter-related causes hypovolaemic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIVC), intracranial haemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy, secondary bacterial sepsis and multi-organ failure. It is significant that 6 of the 8 deaths occurred in patients 19 years or older, and shows that serious illness from dengue is not confined to the paediatric age group.