ABSTRACT:
Background: Dengue is a debilitating condition caused by a flavivirus. The female Aedes mosquito widely transmits this virus. The prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and malaria is very high in the northern and southern parts of Karnataka. Objectives: This study aims to find the prevalence of dengue and its clinical occurrence in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methodology: A prospective observational study was carried out in a tertiary care teaching hospital in a hospitalized patient diagnosed with dengue fever. Patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. All the relevant data was collected in a specially designed data collection form. The data were analyzed by using computer tools like Microsoft Excel and SPSS software version 20.0. Results: In our study out of a total of 315 patients males were higher than female and the dengue was commonly prevalent in the age group of 15-30 years followed by 30-45 years. Fever (99.7%) and generalized body ache (GBA, 58.5%) were the most common clinical presentations. Ns1 antigen (67.61%) was found to be positive in the majority of patients. Blood hematocrit was elevated (26.63%) in most of the abnormal cases and white blood cell count (36.19%) and platelets (96%) counts were decreased. Platelet was found the most common laboratory parameter to get affected in dengue fever. Conclusion: The most common symptoms for dengue are concluded as fever, GBA, Headache and joint pain in our study. Blood hematocrit was elevated, but WBC and platelet counts were severely decreased. The prevalence was found higher in the monsoon season of September to November. All the patients enrolled in the study were counseled regarding diseases, and education was provided on various preventive measures.