Status of antioxidants and other biochemical abnormalities in children with dengue fever
Ray, G.; Kumar, V.; Kapoor, A.K.; Dutta, A.K.; Batra, S.
Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 45(1): 4-7
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0142-6338 PMID: 10191585 DOI: 10.1093/tropej/45.1.4Document Number: 522688
During an outbreak of dengue fever in Delhi, India, in 1996, 66 children between 45 days and 12 years of age with dengue fever and 25 healthy controls were studied for antioxidants and other biochemical abnormalities. As per WHO criteria, 14 children were classified as having classical dengue (DEN), 42 with dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), and 10 (including 3 who died) as having dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and albumin (ALB), the 3 main antioxidants studied, were found to be abnormal in 96, 94 and 40% of the cases respectively. The levels for aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine phosphokinase (CPK), total protein (TP), total cholesterol (CHO) and triglycerides (TGL) were abnormal in 79, 50, 30, 93 and 67% of the cases, respectively. Among the different groups of dengue, the abnormalities were more marked in children with DSS than in those with DEN and DHF, especially with respect to ALB, TP, TGL, AST, ALT and CPK (P<0.005). This preliminary report of dengue confirms the assumption of free radical generation and alteration in antioxidant status during acute illness.