J.J.TAMBE
Consultant Pediatrician, Varanasi

Address for Correpondence: J J tambe, G T Road Rajatalab Varanasi 22131.1 Email: jjtambe@rediffmail.com

Acute febrile encephalopathy (AFE) is a common problem leading to childhood hospital admission in Lucknow. In the previous years, many patients have been admitted in our wards with AFE along with hemorrhagic manifestations. Some of them were proven to be dengue viral infections. The present study was therefore aimed at defining the role of dengue viral infection as a cause of AFE in children in Lucknow.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Tertiary care hospital.

Subject: A total of 123 cases of AFE were enrolled over the study period between August 2003 to July 2004. A detailed history and examination was entered on a predesigned data collection form. Investigations done included cerebrospinal fluid examination, packed cell volume, liver function tests, platelet counts, haemagglutination test (HI) test for Japanese encephalitis and dengue and IgM antibody capture, ELISA for dengue infection.

The maximum cases were presented to the hospital in the month of September (45.0%). Twenty cases (16.2%) were proven to have Dengue viral infection.

Dengue viral infection is a cause of acute febrile encephalopathy in children in this region.

Last updated: 1-10-2005 Vol 2 Issue 10 Art # 47

TAMBE JJ. DENGUE VIRUS ENCEPHALOPATHY IN CHILDREN. Pediatric Oncall [serial online] 2005 [cited 2005 October 1];2. Art # 47. Available from: