[Clinical and epidemiological characteristic of dengue].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Hospital General de Culiacan Dr. Bernardo J. Gastélum and the Hospital General de Zona 28 of IMSS from September to November 2003, with patients having dengue diagnosis, which was classified according to the WHO criteria. The statistical program Stata v6 was used for the analysis.


RESULTS
231 dengue cases (DF: 90.48 %; DHF 9.52 %) were included. Average age was 34.5 +/- 15 years. 61.7% of DF cases were women, while 77.3% of DHF cases were men. DHF cases went to the hospital in 4.7 +/- 2 days, while DF cases went in 3.4 +/- 2.2 days (p = 0.004). DHF cases had more often headache, retroocular pain, arthralgias, diarrhea and vomiting (p < 0.05). DF cases showed hemorrhagic manifestations (24.8%); plasma leakage (6.7%) and thrombocytopenia (34.4%); petequiae, gingival bleeding and epistaxis were associated to thrombocytopenia below 39 000/mm(3) (p < 0.05); neutropenia, prolonged partial thromboplastin time elevated transaminases were observed more often in DHF cases (p <0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
the main variables associated with DHF were: male gender, fever, vomiting and gingival bleeding but not previous history of dengue; the major hemoconcentration, the major severity of thrombocytopenia.
Murillo-Llanes
Joel
J
Departamento de Investigación, Hospital General de Culiacán Dr. Bernardo J. Gastélum, Secretaría de Salud, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Navolato, Sinaloa, Mexico. invhgc@yahoo.com
Soto-Valenzuela
Humberto
H
Flores-Flores
Paula
P
Peraza-Garay
Felipe
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003715:Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019595:Severe Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology