Natl Med J India
-
Dengue fever/dengue haemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome is a serious health problem in tropical countries. Intravascular fluid depletion due to capillary leak is presumed to be the cause of hypotension in dengue haemorrhagic fever. The treatment guidelines of the World Health Organization lay stress primarily on monitoring and fluid replacement therapy. During the 1996 epidemic in New Delhi, we observed problems in fluid management of such children and prospectively looked for myocardial dysfunction as an additional factor for hypotension. ⋯ The role of myocardial dysfunction remains to be defined as there was no correlation with clinical severity. Myocardial functions need to be assessed in patients with this disease, especially those who have persistent hypotension in spite of adequate hydration.