Cardiac function in Vietnamese patients with different dengue severity grades.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Tropical Medicine

Background:

• Dengue fever poses a significant global health burden, with severe cases often involving cardiovascular compromise due to capillary leakage.
• Cardiac involvement in dengue is recognized but remains understudied, particularly concerning its impact on cardiac function across different disease severities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cardiac functional parameters and hemodynamic indices in patients with varying degrees of dengue severity.
• To assess changes in cardiac function over the course of hospitalization in dengue patients.

Main Methods:

• Echocardiography, including tissue Doppler imaging, was performed on 79 patients (aged 8-60 years) categorized into dengue, dengue with warning signs, and severe dengue groups.
• Cardiac functional parameters and hemodynamic indices were monitored throughout the patients' hospital stay.

Main Results:

• Patients with severe dengue exhibited significantly worse cardiac function, including left ventricular systolic dysfunction and an increased myocardial performance index, compared to those with uncomplicated dengue.
• Reduced septal and right ventricular systolic and diastolic velocities were observed in severe dengue patients.
• Cardiac parameters showed improvement from admission to discharge in the severe dengue group, with associated pleural effusions noted in patients with cardiac impairment.

Conclusions:

• Severe dengue is associated with demonstrable systolic and diastolic cardiac impairment, predominantly affecting the septal and right ventricular walls.
• The findings highlight the importance of monitoring cardiac function in severe dengue cases and suggest potential for recovery during treatment.