Unilateral massive hemothorax in Dengue hemorrhagic fever: a unique presentation.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a more serious form of disease characterised by plasma leakage syndrome, thrombocytopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation. We present a 51 year old male who presented with fever, petechiae and acute onset of breathlessness. Emergency chest rhoentogram showed a massive right sided pleural effusion. On insertion of intercostal drain, there was a sudden gush of blood tinged fluid suggestive of hemothorax. There was no history of trauma or bleeding tendencies. Laboratory investigations revealed a raised hematocrit and severe thrombocytopenia. Dengue IgM was surprisingly positive. After aggressive supportive management the patient gradually improved and was discharged. While bilateral pleural effusion is a known occurrence in dengue hemorrhagic fever, massive hemothorax is unheard of. We report the first case in literature of dengue hemorrhagic fever presenting as unilateral massive hemothorax. A suspicion of dengue must also be borne in mind in cases of non-traumatic hemothorax especially in endemic areas.
Department of Medicine, KMC Manipal, Karnataka, India. drsumansk@gmail.com
Suman S
SS
Karanth
Anurag
A
Gupta
Mukhyaprana
M
Prabhu
D004322:Drainage; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000821:virology; D005334:Fever / Q000821:virology; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000601:surgery / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019595:Severe Dengue / Q000150:complications*