title: [Dengue infection in children and adolescents in Panama].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dengue is a serious emerging infectious disease and constitutes a major international health concern.
  
  
  METHODS
  All reports of confirmed dengue infection in patients aged less than 18 years old between 2000 and 2005 were included. A confirmed diagnosis was established by culture of the virus within the first 3 days of symptom onset or by serologic assays 5-30 days after symptom onset. Clinical and epidemiological features were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 457 patients were included (57.6 % female). The median age was 13 years (IQR 5 6). A greater number of cases were detected in urban areas and during the rainy season (May-November). Two epidemics were reported in 2001 (33.9 %) and the first eight months of 2005 (23.1 %). The most prevalent symptoms were fever (95.2 %), severe headache (74.2 %), chills (65.9 %), rash (63.5 %), myalgias (51.9 %) and retro-orbital pain (51.6 %). No significant differences were found between male and female patients. Significant differences in clinical features were found when the patients were divided into 3 groups; < 5 years old, 6-10 years old and > 10 years old. Fifty-three percent of the patients had had previous contact with a dengue-infected individual. There were 7 patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever, 4 of whom died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dengue virus infection is still a major health problem in Panama. To achieve effective control of dengue, further epidemiological studies, such as our own, are needed to design appropriate preventive measures.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario La Paz, Modesto Lafuente 59, 28003 Madrid, Spain. bealarru@yahoo.es
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Larrú Martínez
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quiroz
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bellón
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Esquivel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nieto Guevara
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sáez-Llorens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010176:Panama / Q000453:epidemiology