Acute myocarditis in dengue hemorrhagic fever: a case report and review of cardiac complications in dengue-affected patients

SummaryWe report a case of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) complicated by acute myocarditis and review the literature. A 65-year-old woman experienced DHF due to dengue virus serotype 3, complicated with acute myocarditis and acute pulmonary edema. Clinically this masqueraded as acute myocardial infarction, with an electrocardiographically depressed ST segment in precordial leads and elevated serum cardiac-specific troponin I level. Under supportive management, the patient recovered 3 days later. A total of 18 pertinent articles involving 339 dengue-affected patients with cardiac complications were found by PubMed search. Clinical manifestations of cardiac complications varied considerably, from self-limiting tachy–brady arrhythmia to severe myocardial damage, leading to hypotension and pulmonary edema. Although rare, a fatal outcome was reported in some cases of dengue with cardiac complications. To avoid otherwise preventable morbidity and mortality, physicians should have a high index of suspicion for cardiac complications in patients with dengue illness and should manage this accordingly

DC-SIGN (CD209) Promoter −336 A/G Polymorphism Is Associated with Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and Correlated to DC-SIGN Expression and Immune Augmentation

Dengue fever (DF) is an arthropod-borne disease that is prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. DC-SIGN [dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3 (ICAM-3)-grabbing non-integrin] is a major receptor for dengue infection. DC-SIGN, also called CD209, expresses on dendritic cells (DCs) that bind to ICAM-3, which is expressed on T cells to facilitate the initial interaction between DCs and T cells. Variations in the CD209 promoter (−336 A/G; rs4804803) genotype are involved in the pathogenesis of human infectious diseases. Here we found that patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) had a higher frequency of the AG or GG genotype of rs4804803 than DF or controls. Functional studies determined that monocyte-derived DCs (MDDCs) from individuals with AG genotype had significantly higher cell surface DC-SIGN expression, associated with higher TNFα, IL-12p40, and IP-10 production, but lower viral replication than those with AA genotype. An increase in DEN-2 replication in MDDCs was observed following the addition of anti-IP-10 neutralizing antibody. These findings highlight the fact that the rs4804803 SNP in the CD209 promoter is associated with DHF and correlated to DC-SIGN expression and immune augmentation

A Surveillance System to Reduce Transmission of Pandemic H1N1 (2009) Influenza in a 2600-Bed Medical Center

BACKGROUND: Concerns have been raised about how the transmission of emerging infectious diseases from patients to healthcare workers (HCWs) and vice versa could be recognized and prevented in a timely manner. An effective strategy to block transmission of pandemic H1N1 (2009) influenza in HCWs is important. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An infection control program was implemented to survey and prevent nosocomial outbreaks of H1N1 (2009) influenza at a 2,600-bed, tertiary-care academic hospital. In total, 4,963 employees at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital recorded their temperature and received online education on control practices for influenza infections. Administration records provided vaccination records and occupational characteristics of all HCWs. Early recognition of a pandemic H1N1 (2009) influenza case was followed by a semi-structured questionnaire to analyze possible routes of patient contact, household contact, or unspecified contact. Surveillance spanned August 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010; 51 HCWs were confirmed to have novel H1N1 (2009) influenza by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Prevalence of patient contact, household contact, or unspecified contact infection was 13.7% (7/51), 13.7% (7/51), and 72.5% (37/51), respectively. The prevalence of the novel H1N1 infection was significantly lower among vaccinated HCWs than among unvaccinated HCWs (p<0.001). Higher viral loads in throat swabs were found in HCWs with patient and household contact infection than in those with unspecified contact infection (4.15 vs. 3.53 copies/mL, log(10), p = 0.035). CONCLUSION: A surveillance system with daily temperature recordings and online education for HCWs is important for a low attack rate of H1N1 (2009) influenza transmission before H1N1 (2009) influenza vaccination is available, and the attack rate is further decreased after mass vaccination. Unspecified contact infection rates were significantly higher than that of patient contact and household contact infection, highlighting the need for public education of influenza transmission in addition to hospital infection control

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Fatal Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Adults: Emphasizing the Evolutionary Pre-fatal Clinical and Laboratory Manifestations

Background: A better description of the clinical and laboratory manifestations of fatal patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is important in alerting clinicians of severe dengue and improving management. Methods and Findings: Of 309 adults with DHF, 10 fatal patients and 299 survivors (controls) were retrospectively analyzed. Regarding causes of fatality, massive gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding was found in 4 patients, dengue shock syndrome (DSS) alone in 2; DSS/subarachnoid hemorrhage, Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis/bacteremia, ventilator associated pneumonia, and massive GI bleeding/Enterococcus faecalis bacteremia each in one. Fatal patients were found to have significantly higher frequencies of early altered consciousness (#24 h after hospitalization), hypothermia, GI bleeding/massive GI bleeding, DSS, concurrent bacteremia with/without shock, pulmonary edema, renal/hepatic failure, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Among those experienced early altered consciousness, massive GI bleeding alone/with uremia/with E. faecalis bacteremia, and K. pneumoniae meningitis/bacteremia were each found in one patient. Significantly higher proportion of bandemia from initial (arrival) laboratory data in fatal patients as compared to controls, and higher proportion of pre-fatal leukocytosis and lower pre-fatal platelet count as compared to initial laboratory data of fatal patients were found. Massive GI bleeding (33.3%) and bacteremia (25%) were the major causes of pre-fatal leukocytosis in the deceased patients; 33.3 % of the patients with prefatal profound thrombocytopenia (,20000/mL), and 50 % of the patients with pre-fatal prothrombin time (PT) prolongatio

Laboratory information of the fatal and control groups^*.

<p>*WBC = white cell count; APTT = activated partial thromboplastin time; PT = prothrombin time; ALT = serum alanine aminotransferase; AST = serum aspartate aminotransferase; n/N = no. of patients/no. of patients with data available.</p>†<p>Data detected from specimen(s) sampled at patient's arrival at the hospital.</p>‡<p>Pre-fatal laboratory data were data detected from the blood specimens of fatal patients sampled within the immediate 48 h before fatality.</p>§<p>Bandemia referred to presence of band cell (immature white blood cell) in peripheral blood.</p>¶<p>Prolongation of PT was defined as a PT>3 seconds than that of control.</p><p>**Prolongation of APTT was defined an APTT>20% than that of control.</p

Demographic and clinical information of the fatal and control groups^*.

<p>*Data are number of patients (%), unless stated otherwise. DSS = Dengue shock syndrome; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; GI = gastrointestinal; n/N = no. of patients/no. of patients with data available.</p>†<p>An individual patient might have more than one underlying disease/condition.</p>‡<p>One patient with lung cancer found in the fatal group; 2 patients with breast cancer and 1 with esophagus cancer found in the control group,.</p>§<p>One patient with hypovolemia had a concurrent <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> bacteremia.</p>¶<p>Blood culture was available in 8 patients; one of them experienced <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> meningitis and the other primary <i>E. faecalis</i> bacteremia, and shock was found in both.</p><p>**The patient had primary <i>Rosemonas</i> bacteremia.</p>††<p>Primary <i>K. pneumoniae</i> bacteremia was found in 1 patient the fatal group, and in 2 patients in the control group.</p>‡‡<p>Three patients concurrently had pulmonary edema.</p>§§<p>One lung cancer patient developed pulmonary edema in day 16 of his hospitalization.</p>¶¶<p>An individual patient might have more than one symptom and/or sign.</p><p>***One originally febrile patient developed hypothermia during hospital stay.</p>†††<p>Three (75%) patients experienced massive GI bleeding.</p

Utility of C-Reactive Protein Levels for Early Prediction of Dengue Severity in Adults

Dengue has broad clinical presentation with unpredictable clinical evolution and outcome. We aimed to evaluate the utility of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for distinguishing between mild and severe cases in the early phase of the dengue illness. We retrospectively evaluated adults with dengue from 2006 to 2014, according to 1997 and 2009 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for severity. Of 191 included patients, 32.9% had nonshock dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), 3.1% dengue shock syndrome (DSS), and 7.9% severe dengue. The risk of DHF/DSS and severe dengue is significantly related to the increasing levels of CRP. Of 191 patients, 97 had CRP levels measured during the febrile (days 1–3); 85 during the critical (days 4–6); and 9 during the convalescent (days 7–10) illness phases. During the febrile phase, there was significant higher CRP level for DSS versus DF/nonshock DHF and severe dengue versus nonsevere dengue, with CRP cutoff level 30.1 mg/L (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), 0.938; 100% sensitivity, 76.3% specificity) and 24.2 mg/L (AUC, 0.717; 70% sensitivity, 71.3% specificity), respectively. Our study highlights the utility of the CRP levels in early prediction of DSS and severe dengue in adult patients