My sister got dengue fever for the second time. Is she in danger?

Question

Hi doctor,

My sister has been suffering from dengue for the past four days. She has got this fever for the second time now. The first time was eight years ago. Her platelet count today is 2.6 lakhs, PCV is 34, and WBC TC is 1900. She is being given saline along with Sumol, Ondem, Levazeo and Milk of Magnesia. She still has a fever of above 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is her life in danger?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I had gone through all the data posted.

Dengue is a common viral illness. The difference is that there will be profound dehydration, so keep her well hydrated. Let the saline be there, and if she does not have vomiting, then give her fruit juices or ORS packets (oral rehydration salt) mixed with water for 12 to 16 glasses per day. Give her a soft diet to keep stools soft, and monitor for any bleeding manifestations, which usually occur if the platelet count is less than 20,000. From the reports that are posted, she is holding on and continuing all the medications.

Dolofenac 650 mg (Acetaminophen) to be taken according to body weight and age, three times a day, and keep doing tepid sponging. Consult your doctor, discuss with him or her, and take the medicine with consent. Kindly do a liver function test and repeat the malaria test by doing the peripheral smear method.

Send me all reports and WBC (white blood cell) counts showing the percentage of lymphocytes and neutrophils for all days so that we can guess how many more days we need to wait. As for now, her condition is fine. We need to continue the same treatment and rule out the other causes of fever, if any, mainly malaria, as it can mimic dengue.

I hope this helps.

Revert in case of any doubts.

Thank you.