Fatal Dengue, Chikungunya and Leptospirosis: The Importance of Assessing Co-infections in Febrile Patients in Tropical Areas

The febrile patient from tropical areas, in which emerging arboviruses are endemic, represents a diagnostic challenge, and potential co-infections with other pathogens (i.e., bacteria or parasites) are usually overlooked. We present a case of an elderly woman diagnosed with dengue, chikungunya and &...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina, Carlos E. Jiménez-Canizales, Heriberto Vásquez-Serna, Jesús Alberto Garzón-Ramírez, José Fair Alarcón-Robayo, Juan Alexander Cerón-Pineda, Alfonso J. Rodríguez-Morales
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-11-01
Series:Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/3/4/123
Description
Summary:The febrile patient from tropical areas, in which emerging arboviruses are endemic, represents a diagnostic challenge, and potential co-infections with other pathogens (i.e., bacteria or parasites) are usually overlooked. We present a case of an elderly woman diagnosed with dengue, chikungunya and <i>Leptospira interrogans</i> co-infection. Study Design: Case report. An 87-year old woman from Colombia complained of upper abdominal pain, arthralgia, myalgia, hyporexia, malaise and intermittent fever accompanied with progressive jaundice. She had a medical history of chronic heart failure (Stage C, New York Heart Association, NYHA III), without documented cardiac murmurs, right bundle branch block, non-valvular atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and chronic venous disease. Her cardiac and pulmonary status quickly deteriorated after 24 h of her admission without electrocardiographic changes and she required ventilatory and vasopressor support. In the next hours the patient evolved to pulseless electrical activity and then she died. Dengue immunoglobulin M (IgM), non-structural protein 1 (NS1) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), microagglutination test (MAT) for <i>Leptospira interrogans</i> and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for chikungunya, were positive. This case illustrates a multiple co-infection in a febrile patient from a tropical area of Latin America that evolved to death.
ISSN:2414-6366