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Year : 2016 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 2 | Page : 133 |
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Dengue, rhabdomyolysis, and lupus |
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Beuy Joob1, Viroj Wiwanitkit2
1 Sanitation 1 Medical Academic Center, Bangkok, Thailand 2 Hainan Medical University, China
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Date of Web Publication | 24-Feb-2016 |
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How to cite this article: Joob B, Wiwanitkit V. Dengue, rhabdomyolysis, and lupus. Ann Trop Med Public Health 2016;9:133 |
Dear Sir,
The existence of dengue in a patient with underlying autoimmune disease is very interesting. The recent report on a case with dengue, rhabdomyolysis, and lupus by Verdolin et al. is very useful. [1] Verdolin et al. concluded that "this case demonstrates how alike dengue fever and a lupus flare are, warning clinicians that, especially during an epidemic, both diseases should be carefully differentiated in order to establish a correct and efficient therapy." [1] Indeed, dengue is not a rare disease in tropical countries and the occurrence of dengue in patients with underlying medical illnesses is usually problematic. In case of lupus, it is also evidenced that dengue can trigger the flare-up of lupus and can also lead to severe complications such as lupus nephritis. [2],[3] In the present case, this lupus patient developed an acute febrile illness and this should be the clue for working up. To diagnose dengue, the classical clinical diagnosis such as the basic tourniquet test and complete blood count might be useful for making a presumptive diagnosis. [4],[5] Waiting for serological confirmation might be late for proper management. However, in the present case, this basic concept might be overlooked. The delayed fluid therapy might be an important underlying factor leading to the occurrence of rhabdomyolysis in the present case.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References | |  |
1. | Verdolin LD, Borner AR, Mussi H, Gismondi RA, Schau B, Ramos RC. Rhabdomyolysis associated with dengue fever in a lupic patient Rev Bras Reumatol 2014;54:318-21. |
2. | Rajadhyaksha A, Mehra S. Dengue fever evolving into systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis: A case report. Lupus 2012;21:999-1002. |
3. | Talib SH, Bhattu S, Bhattu R, Deshpande S, Dahiphale D. Dengue fever triggering systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis: A case report. Int Med Case Rep J 2013;6:71-5. |
4. | Wiwanitkit V. The tourniquet test is still a good screening tool for dengue illness. Trop Doct 2005;35:127-8.  [ PUBMED] |
5. | Wiwanitkit V. Dengue fever: Diagnosis and treatment. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2010;8:841-5. |

Correspondence Address: Beuy Joob Sanitation 1 Medical Academic Center, Bangkok Thailand
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1755-6783.177399

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