Title : Acute pancreatitis in severe dengue: An uncommon complication, a case report
Abstract:
Dengue is the most important of the human arboviral infections and most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. It occurs in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and an all-year round disease in the Philippines. In 2020, the Philippines reported 83,155 dengue cases and 324 deaths. Dengue infection is a systemic and dynamic disease with a wide spectrum of clinical features from asymptomatic or mild infections to severe organ dysfunctions to potentially life threatening. Severe dengue is a life-threatening event. There are various atypical presentations of Dengue Fever.
Abdominal pain is a common symptom of Dengue infection and is the major symptom of acute pancreatitis. Pain may vary from a mild discomfort to severe, constant, and incapacitating distress. The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is generally defined based on a combination of laboratory, imaging, and clinical symptoms. This rare complication makes the diagnosis and treatment very challenging and impacts the patient’s survival. There are 18 reported cases of dengue complicated with pancreatitis in the worldwide literature and there was no published literature related to acute pancreatitis and severe dengue in the Philippines.
We report the first and unusual case of acute pancreatitis and acute kidney injury complicating severe dengue in the Philippines in a 22-year-old male who presented with undocumented febrile episodes associated with abdominal pain. It is critical that physicians who monitor dengue illnesses should be aware and alert to these atypical manifestations. The key to successfully managing patients with dengue infection and lowering the probability of medical complications or death due to severe dengue is early recognition and anticipatory treatment.
Keywords: Severe Dengue, Acute Pancreatitis, Acute Kidney Injury
