Introduction:

Dengue can compromise organs such as the myocardium and the liver. Clinical evolution may be aggravated by this fact, and for that reason, these organs have been considered in the revised classification of the World Health Organization (WHO) for this disease.

Objective:

To describe the affectation caused by dengue in organs such as the myocardium, the liver and the central nervous system (CNS) in children from Neiva, Colombia.

Materials and methods:

This study analyzed 930 children diagnosed with confirmed dengue and admitted to the Hernando Moncaleano Perdomo University Hospital of Neiva between January 2009 and December 2010. Diagnosis and clinical stratification were obtained based on the revised WHO classification. Dengue infection was confirmed by NS1 or specific IgM plasma detection. Daily clinical and paraclinical follow-up was performed during the full length of hospital stay.

Results:

Out of 930 children, 105 were classified as severe dengue (SD) and, of these, 19 had affected organs. The myocardium was the most compromised organ (14 cases), followed by the liver (4 cases) and the CNS (1 case).

Conclusion:

Clinical involvement of the myocardium, liver or CNS was observed in 18% of the cases of children with SD. A timely diagnosis and treatment of this pathology in children is necessary.

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