Resumo

VILLAR-CENTENO, Luis Angel; DIAZ-QUIJANO, Fredi Alexander  e  MARTINEZ-VEGA, Ruth Aralí. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate is useful to early diagnosis of dengue infection in an endemic area. Infect. [online]. 2007, vol.11, n.4, pp.151-158. ISSN 0123-9392.

Introduction: High erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is frequently associated to infectious diseases. However, among dengue patients comparably normal ESR has been reported. Objective: To evaluate the utility of ESR to the early diagnosis of dengue in patients with acute febrile syndrome (AFS) from an endemic region. Materials and methods: A cohort study was conducted, including patients with acute febrile syndrome of less than 4 days, without apparent aetiology. The study was developed in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, Colombia. Demographic and clinical information was collected in each case and ESR by Westergren method with one hour measurements. Dengue virus infection was studied with paired serologic tests and viral isolation. The association between ESR and dengue was considered, in multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: 95 cases of dengue and 198 patients with AFS of another aetiology were included. ESR (expressed in millimetres/hour) was significantly lower in the patients with dengue than those with other causes of AFS (average=19,4 ± 16,3 vs 27,9 ± 20,7; p=0,0005). In the multivariate analysis, ESR <23 mm/h was associated to dengue (OR= 2,33; 95% CI: 1,25 - 4,33; p=0,008), independently of the age, clinical manifestations, and variables of the hemogram such as hematocrit, platelet count and leukocyte count. Conclusion: A relatively low ESR could be useful to differentiate dengue from other causes of AFS in an endemic region

Palavras-chave : Erythrocyte sedimentation rate; Dengue; Diagnosis; Acute febrile syndrome.

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