title: [Biochemical alterations as prediction markers for the severity of illness in dengue fever patients].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne infection in the world. There is evidence supporting the use of biochemical alterations as prediction tools for severity of illness in dengue.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate biochemical alterations as potential prediction markers for severity in dengue.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a case-control study nested in a cohort. We randomly selected 125 severe dengue cases and 120 controls with non-severe dengue for measuring LDH, CK, CRP and albumin serum levels using acute phase sera. To evaluate the predictive value for each biomarker, we established cut-off points with 90% sensitivity in detecting severe cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was association among the CRP levels < 9.8 mg/L (OR=0.04; 95%CI=0.02-0.08; p=0.000), <400 U/L LDH levels (OR=0.49; 95%CI=0.24-1.02; p=0.053) and <4 mg/dl albumin levels (OR=3.46; 95%CI=1.96-6.12; p=0.000) with the severity of dengue. In contrast, the CK levels showed no association with the severity of the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest an association of CRP, LDH and albumin levels with the severity of dengue. These biochemical tests could be used as predictive tools in the clinical course of the infection.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Epidemiología Clínica, Centro de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
authors.forename: Luis Ángel
authors.initials: LÁ
authors.lastname: Villar-Centeno
authors.affiliation: Red AEDES: Abordando Áreas Endémicas del Dengue para el Estudio de su Severidad (sic.), Colombia.
authors.forename: Anyela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lozano-Parra
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Parasitología y Medicina Tropical, Universidad Surcolombiana, Neiva, Colombia.
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Salgado-García
authors.affiliation: Observatorio Epidemiológico de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, Centro de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas, Universidad Industrial de Santander.
authors.forename: Óscar F
authors.initials: ÓF
authors.lastname: Herrán
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003289:Convalescence; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood*; D003715:Dengue / Q000097:blood*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis*; D019595:Severe Dengue / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012709:Serum Albumin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D003402:Creatine Kinase