Assessment of Abnormal Liver Chemistry in Malaria&Dengue Infections

Background Malaria and dengue are the two most common mosquito-borne diseases in tropical region including India. Although the routine diagnostic procedure does not involve assessing liver chemistry in above diseases, morbidity and mortality are mostly due to complications arising from long standing liver dysfunctions. Liver function tests (LFT) are designed to assess if there is any hepatic dysfunction or not. Hence using LFT as screening test will help the physician to prevent mortality from liver diseases. Hence, we have conducted this study to demonstrate liver is affected in malaria & dengue infections & analyze the biochemical pattern of liver function in patients diagnosed with malaria and dengue infections. Materials and methods It is a prospective study carried out in the Department of Pathology, S. C. B. Medical College, Cuttack. Blood samples were collected from patients advised for LFT. The reports were compiled and analyzed using SPSS 21.0 software and then correlated with clinical diagnosis. Results LFT was done in 533 blood samples out of which non-hepatic infections constituted 154 cases including 64 cases of dengue, 54 cases of tuberculosis & 36 cases of malaria with 98.4 %, 57.4 % & 77.7 % of abnormal LFT results respectively. On comparing the results of dengue and malaria cases with the control, a significant difference (p less than 0.005) was obtained for different parameters of LFT. Conclusion Liver is affected in non-hepatic infections like dengue and malaria, therefore LFT should be performed as a screening test to know the functional status of liver for better management of patients.