A Study of Correlation of Serum Albumin with Dengue Severity

Background: Dengue viruses belong to the genus flavivirus, which include four serotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Clinical manifestations of dengue virus infection range from asymptomatic infection to severe dengue with shock. It is one of the most rapidly spreading vector borne disease in the world. Approximately 50 million dengue infections occur annually and an estimated 2.5 billion people live in dengue endemic countries. The objective of this study is to find out the severity of Dengue illness by correlating it with serum albumin levels. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was done on 150 IPD patients in SRMS, Bareilly, a tertiary care hospital. Patients with Dengue NS1 Ag or IgM positive are incorporated in this study after fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. Complete Blood count, serum albumin levels are calculated at the time of admission. Results: Study involved 150 patients with confirmed Dengue virus infection being admitted in the hospital between July 2019 and December 2019. Blood samples were taken within 24 hours of admission and were used for biochemical tests. Out of 150 patients, 36 developed Severe Dengue. Patients with Severe Dengue had low levels of serum albumin. Multivariate analysis showed that out of 36 patients with severe dengue, 3 patients i.e. 92.7% had low albumin of less than3gm/dl. Conclusions: Therefore, early changes in serum albumin can predict Severe Dengue in patients with Dengue febrile illness.