Abstract:

Purpose: Dengue fever is a worldwide concern due to its considerable mortality and morbidity. The calcium ion plays a critical role in cellular functions and signalling. We evaluated the correlation between severity of dengue and the serum free calcium. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore. The patients with dengue fever were diagnosed using NS1 antigen and/or IgM antibody tests and were classified according to WHO criteria. The association between severity of dengue and serum free calcium was studied. Results: Sample size was 145. The mean age was 36.7years and 91(62.7%) were males. 57(39.3%) , 82(56.6%) and 6(4.1%) patients were classified as Dengue Fever(DF), Dengue Fever with Warning Signs(DF+WS) and Severe Dengue(SD) respectively. The mean Serum free calcium in the study was 3.82±0.52 mg/dl. The mean serum calcium(mg/dl) in each class were as follows - Severe Dengue(3.07±0.19) , Dengue Fever with Warning signs(3.70±0.52) and Dengue Fever(4.07±0.40). The presence of hypocalcemia significantly correlated with the severity of dengue. Conclusion: We conclude that the serum free calcium levels significantly correlated with the severity of dengue fever. Serum free calcium can be used as a predictor of severity in dengue fever.

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