Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Moderate to Severe Dengue Treated at a Regional Hospital in Peru

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Objective: To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients treated for moderate to severe dengue at the Regional Hospital of Ica during 2022. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, and retrospective study was conducted. Medical records of confirmed cases of moderate and severe dengue, treated between January and December 2022, were reviewed. From a total of 578 identified cases, 232 were selected using probabilistic sampling. Data were collected using a previously validated epidemiological form. Results: A total of 45.7% of patients were between 15 and 34 years old; 57.8% were male, and 46.1% were from the central district of Ica. Most cases (82.8%) presented with dengue without warning signs, 12.1% showed warning signs, and 5.2% were classified as severe dengue. The most frequent symptoms were fever (100%), headache (85.3%), lower back pain (82.8%), retro-ocular pain (79.3%), and arthralgia (74.6%). Coinfection with COVID-19 was detected in 13.4% of patients. Virological testing revealed the presence of serotype 1 in 50.9% of cases and serotype 2 in 49.1%. Conclusions: Most moderate to severe dengue cases in Ica during 2022 affected young males from the central district. The majority presented with non-severe forms of the disease. The detection of co-circulating serotypes 1 and 2, along with COVID-19 coinfections, underscores the importance of strengthening clinical and virological surveillance in the region.