Regular paracetamol in severe dengue: a lethal combination?

Chin Seng Gan1, Sze Yee Chong, Lucy Chai See Lum

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur 59100, Malaysia.

An eight-month-old female infant with severe dengue disease, who was repeatedly given therapeutic paracetamol for severe dengue, developed fulminant liver failure with encephalopathy, gastrointestinal haemorrhage and severe coagulopathy. She responded to supportive measures and N-acetylcysteine infusion. This case highlights the potential danger of administering repeated therapeutic doses of paracetamol in childhood severe dengue disease with hepatitis.

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