A study on the usefulness of band form count as a marker of severity in dengue fever

---

Original Article

Author Details : Rajeswari Kathiah*, K Kala

Volume : 8, Issue : 2, Year : 2021

Article Page : 225-227

https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijpo.2021.044

Suggest article by email

Get Permission

---

Abstract

Background: Dengue fever is a mosquito borne tropical disease caused by dengue virus. Clinical features of dengue fever are varied and ranges from asymptomatic to life threatening shock and death. A set of investigations is used in the monitoring of the disease apart from the tests done for confirmation. No single test is the gold standard in the evaluation of dengue patients that can be used as marker of clinical severity
and fatality. Aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of band form count as a marker of severity in dengue fever.
Materials and Methods: Peripheral smears are made for all dengue cases confirmed with Immunochromatography test for NS1, IgM and IgG. The cases were categorised in to clinically stable dengue fever patients and severe dengue based on their clinical findings. The band form count was done by manual differential count. The correlation between band form count and clinical severity was assessed. A total of 124 cases were studied that included 23 cases of severe dengue.
Results: A significant relationship between band form count and clinical severity was obtained. 22/23 cases of severe hemorrhagic fever had significant increase in band form count of above 20%. All the other cases diagnosed as dengue fever had band form count <10> Conclusion: Hence, band form count can be used in the set of investigations used in the evaluation of patients with dengue fever to assess the severity of the disease. Considering its role in assessing the severity, further research is required to evaluate the usefulness in the evaluation and management of patients with severe dengue.

Keywords: Dengue, Severe dengue, Severe dengue hemorrhagic fever, Bandemia, Band forms.

How to cite : Kathiah R , Kala K , A study on the usefulness of band form count as a marker of severity in dengue fever. Indian J Pathol Oncol 2021;8(2):225-227

This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.