17-year-old female patient nearly died from dengue shock

Information from Tam Anh General Hospital in Hanoi recently said that patient Linh (17 years old, patient's name has been changed), after three days of high fever, body aches, nausea, and fainting due to low blood pressure, was diagnosed with dengue shock by emergency doctors.

MSc. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hau, Department of Internal Medicine, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said that the patient was admitted to the hospital conscious but tired, had a weak pulse, cold extremities, and had not passed urine for 6 hours.

17 year old female patient collapsed from dengue shock syndrome figure 1 — The patient's condition gradually stabilized after 4 days of treatment. (Photo by BVCC).

The doctor diagnosed the patient with shock due to dengue fever, the patient's blood vessels were damaged, vasodilation caused severe plasma leakage, leading to low blood pressure. This condition reduced blood flow to the organs causing shock, causing the patient to faint.

Shock is a dangerous complication of dengue fever. People with dengue shock can be in critical condition within 24-48 hours due to multiple organ failure and death if not treated. The patient was lucky to arrive at the hospital in time and was treated by a doctor with a fluid replacement regimen at a rate of 15 ml/kg/hour in the first hour, decreasing in the following hours, maintaining 1.5 ml/kg/hour for 10-12 hours.

Doctor Hau recommends that people with high fever of 39-40 degrees on the 2nd or 3rd day of unknown cause should have tests done to rule out dengue fever. Patients with fever accompanied by fatigue, lethargy, body aches, muscle and joint pain, and eye pain are signs of dengue fever and should be examined immediately.

Patients need to receive the correct amount and speed of fluids as prescribed by their doctor. Too much fluid can cause pulmonary edema and respiratory failure. If there are signs of blood concentration, not receiving the correct amount of fluids can cause low blood pressure, reduced blood flow to organs, and shock.

Doctor Hau noted that the dangerous stage usually occurs on days 3-7, usually when the patient's fever has subsided, so they are subjective. At this time, platelets continue to decrease significantly and blood concentration appears, requiring close monitoring.

17 year old female patient collapsed from dengue shock fever figure 2 — Doctors at Tam Anh General Hospital in Hanoi treat patients with dengue fever.

To prevent dengue shock after the fever subsides, patients need to monitor for another week and pay attention to signs such as subcutaneous bleeding, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, abnormal menstrual bleeding in women, lethargy or difficulty breathing. Currently, there is no specific treatment for the disease, only symptomatic treatment. Patients need to rehydrate with ORS, fruit juice, filtered water, coconut water.

Last week, the Hanoi Center for Disease Control recorded 1,669 more cases of dengue fever in 30 districts, towns and cities, an increase of 540 cases compared to the previous week. Thus, since the beginning of the year, Hanoi has recorded 8,362 cases of dengue fever, three deaths. Compared to the same period last year, the number of patients increased four times, the number of deaths was equivalent. The epidemic situation is forecast to continue to develop complicatedly in the coming weeks.

Le Trang

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