Improved data on Dengue covering differences in epidemiological surveillance, patient demographics, the health seeking behavior of patients and standards of care

This Observational multicentric study has been planned to address the dengue related knowledge gaps by collecting data covering differences in epidemiological surveillance, patient demographics, the health seeking behavior of patients and standards of care for dengue across different clinical sites in India. The study has been planned in 2 parts.

 

Study Objectives:

Part A

1. To determine the number of patients with dengue fever admitted to one or more hospitals in

India during a period of 3 months or more if sample size requirements are not met

2. To characterize the age, gender, clinical features, complications and clinical disease severity of patients with acute dengue presenting to healthcare facilities in India.

3. To determine the proportion of admitted patients with acute dengue who have comorbidities

(diabetes, obesity, hypertension, sickle cell disease)

4. To determine the proportion of admitted patients with dengue that required admission to intensive care units and the reasons for the same along with associated mortality.

5. To determine the duration of hospital stay in patients admitted to a hospital with acute dengue

 

Part B

1. To determine the number of patients with suspected acute dengue presenting to a primary health care facility/outpatient facility/community centers/other health care settings in India in a three-month period (extendable if required) between October 2023 to May 2024.

2. To characterize the age, gender, clinical features, complications and clinical disease severity of patients with suspected acute dengue presenting at these sites

3. To identify the duration of illness when seeking medical advice and reasons for presenting late/early

4. To determine the knowledge about dengue warning signs and risk factors for severe disease (diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, old age etc.)

5. To find out the type of treatment taken prior to seeking medical advice (herbal remedies, paracetamol, NSAIDs and other OTCs)

 

Methodology

Part A: All patients who are hospitalized with acute dengue and who are capable of participating and providing consent will be recruited following informed written consent. The study will be carried out in 3 tertiary care hospitals in India.

 

Part B: Patients with a febrile illness and suspected to have acute dengue will be recruited in 2-3 PHC/CHC/UHTC/RHTC associated with the tertiary care hospitals participating in Part A of the study. Also, the study will be conducted in the OPDs of the selected tertiary care hospitals in Part A of the study proposal. The patients will be recruited following informed written consent.

A pre-tested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire will be used to record requisite patient related details. Complete patient data confidentiality will be maintained.

A validated data management tool will be used to collect all patient-related information. Descriptive statistics will be used to analyze subject data.