Dengue haemorrhagic fever in Sri Lanka

This is a retrospective study of 354 suspected cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), admitted to Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH), Colombo during 1996. The objective of the study was to determine the correlation between clinical, laboratory, radiological and serological diagnosis of DHF. Diagnosis was based on the haemagglutination inhibition test. Serologically, 177 cases had dengue infection and, of these, 143 children had DHF. There was only a 50% correlation between clinical suspicion of DHF and positive serology. There was 100% correlation between laboratory and radiological diagnosis of DHF and positive serology.