In view of the increase of cases admitted for suspicion of dengue fever at Octavio de la Concepción y de la Pedraja Pediatric Hospital, with alarm signs of the disease, it is opportune to know the behavior of this arbovirosis in Holguin territory. Principles shared by Dr. María Paneque Mendoza, who is head of the Pediatric Clinics Service at this institution.
(Reporter) – (R) How does dengue behave in pediatric ages in Holguin?
In the last few days we have had a considerable increase in the number of patients who come to the on-call service because of non-specific febrile syndrome or suspicion of dengue fever. This occurs mainly in children coming from the health areas of the municipality of Calixto García, specifically in the town of Mir and the Pedro Díaz Coello district, in the provincial capital city.
At present, 21 patients are hospitalized in the suspected dengue ward, seven of them showing warning signs of the disease. For this reason, when a febrile syndrome appears in children or in any member of the family, it is advisable to go to the health services for an opportune evaluation”.
dengue, alarm, Holguín
Doctor María Paneque Mendoza, head of the pediatric clinic service at the Holguín pediatric hospital. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.
(R) – As dengue is a disease with a broad clinical spectrum that can range from an almost imperceptible picture to the appearance of serious complications, what are the most frequent warning signs observed?
Among the main warning signs seen in pediatric cases are abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea that have even led to dehydration.
In addition, bleeding has appeared, in the case of adolescents bleeding outside the menstrual cycle and we are also seeing gingivorrhagia, which is a spontaneous hemorrhage that occurs in the gums. We should also keep an eye on the appearance of fluid in cavities or lung, fainting, irritability or drowsiness. It is essential that the patients incorporate water and electrolytes, hence oral rehydration salts are recommended.
alarm, dengue fever, pediatric cases, Holguín
According to studies carried out, dengue serotype three is currently circulating. It causes serious signs of the disease, therefore we would like to warn the family about the need to go promptly to the health services when any clinical symptom of the disease appears, especially in children with non-specific febrile syndrome, which are those cases that have fever, without any other symptomatology.
Contrary to what many people think, the drop in fever does not mean that the patient is already well or recovered, since we very often see, and even as a normal evolution of the disease, that the moment the fever drops is when the alarm signs begin to appear. It is from the third or fourth day when there may be a decrease in platelets, leukocytes and an increase in blood concentration, known as increased hematocrit”.
(R) – How is the medical care of these patients organized in this institution? dengue fever, alarm, pediatric, Holguín
Our hospital has a team of general practitioners prepared to face this new increase of the disease, who have been working with us for about five years, time that has allowed them to acquire a vast experience in the follow-up and identification of alarm signs and, of course, in the timely conduct.
These professionals have always been accompanied by pediatric specialists, most of them belonging to the pediatric clinic service. In this task, the support of our nursing staff, so dedicated to the work of monitoring and surveillance of the patient, cannot be missing”.
Thus, 24-hour evaluation teams work with these patients, made up of highly trained professionals, who work together in order to achieve the improvement of the infants.
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