Multisystem Failure in Fatal Dengue: Associations between the Infectious Viral Serotype and Clinical and Histopathological Findings

• Published in: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 2023-10, Vol.109 (4), p.908-916
• Main Authors: Rivera, Jorge, Rengifo, Aura Caterine, Alvarez-Díaz, Diego, Parra, Edgar, Usme-Ciro, José, Castellanos, Jaime, Velandia, Myriam, Laiton-Donato, Katherine, Rico, Angélica, Pardo, Lisseth, Caldas, María Leonor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antigens; Child; Child, Preschool; Dengue - mortality; Dengue - pathology; Dengue - virology; Dengue fever; Dengue Virus - classification; Dengue Virus - genetics; Dengue Virus - isolation & purification; Dengue Virus - pathogenicity; Female; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Infectious diseases; Liver; Liver - pathology; Liver - virology; Male; Middle Aged; Multiple Organ Failure - mortality; Multiple Organ Failure - pathology; Multiple Organ Failure - virology; Muscle pain; Serogroup; Spleen; Spleen - pathology; Spleen - virology; Viral infections; Virulence; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0002-9637; 1476-1645; 1476-1645
• DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0587

Dengue is the most important arthropod-borne viral infection of humans. However, its viral pathogenesis is still unknown. The information collected from dengue fatal cases is crucial for understanding the complex interactions between virulence and host factors. This study aimed to establish possible associations between the clinical characteristics, histopathological changes, replication, and tissue location of viral serotypes in dengue fatal cases. Clinical and histopathological characterizations, antigen localization in tissue, and detection of the infecting serotype and replication using real-time polymerase chain reaction were all performed on the dengue fatal cases. The majority of the cases involved people under the age of 20. Bleeding (48.3%), abdominal pain (44.8%), myalgia (52.9%), and headache (48.3%) were the most common clinical manifestations in the cases. There was multiorgan pathology, with histopathological changes primarily in the liver, spleen, and lung. Similarly, the viral antigen was found primarily in these organs; however, there were no associations between tissue changes, viral location, infecting serotypes, and replication processes. Dengue infection should be considered a multiorgan disease, the outcome of which is possibly not associated with the infecting viral serotype.