BENGALURU: A simple case of dengue turned out to be so severe that a 26-year-old girl was diagnosed with dengue haemorrhagic shock and multiple organ failure.
Like any other dengue case, the girl was admitted to a Bengaluru hospital with fever and low blood platelet count of 15,000 in July. The initial treatment caused her fever to subside. However, her blood pressure along with her platelet count kept dropping leading to altered level of consciousness and complications like bleeding from the mouth and vagina requiring immediate attention and critical care management. She was referred to Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road, where she was diagnosed with dengue haemorrhagic shock and multiple organ failure (deranged liver and kidney function).
It is a serious illness that can cause fluid to leak from the blood vessels into the body, leading to symptoms like breathing difficulty, low blood pressure, and abdominal pain. It can also cause bleeding, liver damage, confusion and heart problems.
The girl was kept on ventilator support for two weeks as she suffered from severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a condition that causes fluid to build up in the lungs and oxygen is cut off to the organs. The doctors ensured that she successfully underwent a tracheostomy and an organ transplant too. Though she was discharged, it is expected that she will take around three months to regain strength completely.