Work

Dengue in older inpatients in the post-COVID-19 Period: a case series from a North Indian tertiary center

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Studies on dengue in older patients are scarce from India. The patterns of dengue in the post-COVID-19 period have been poorly studied globally. Our case series describes the patterns and outcomes of dengue in inpatients of the geriatric unit of a tertiary university hospital in North India during the period of August -December 2023. Twenty-four patients were diagnosed with dengue out of 182 admissions during the study period (13.2%). The median (Q1-Q3) age of patients was 67.5 (64.75-75) years. Fever was present in all except one patient (95.8%). Weakness, vomiting, dyspnea, and altered sensorium occurred in 41.7%, 37.5%, 29.2%, and 20.8%, respectively. Hyponatremia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia were observed in 58.3%, 45.8%, and 25% of cases, and nearly one-third developed hepatitis. Leucopenia rates were relatively low. Dengue was severe in two-thirds, and acute kidney injury was the commonest complication. Three fatalities were observed . In summary, many older patients had atypical presentations of dengue, and the disease was severe in a significant proportion. Larger multi-centric surveillance studies with the inclusion of immunogenic correlates of COVID-19 are needed to understand its effects if any on the age and region-specific variations of dengue in the elderly.

Source: IDCases

DOI: 10.1016/j.idcr.2025.e02323

Authors: Abhimanyu Velmurugan, Shivangi Pandey, Aayushi Owdhwal, Anup Singh, Sankha Shubhra Chakrabarti, Upinder Kaur

Institutions: Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University

Language: English

Topic: Mosquito-borne diseases and control

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,370