Association of Serum Albumin Levels with Severity of Illness in Patients with Dengue Fever at Margalla Institute of Health Sciences Islamabad

Abstract

Objective: To identify the association of serum albumin levels with the severity of illness in patients diagnosed
with dengue fever
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Medicine Department of Margalla Institute of
Health Sciences Islamabad, Pakistan from July 2022 to June, 2023.
Methods: A total of 82 diagnosed cases of dengue fever were included in the study. All the baseline
investigations were done including serum albumin at the time of diagnosis. The severity of the illness was
determined on the basis of platelet counts during the first week of illness. The association of various sociodemographic factors including albumin levels was determined with the severity of illness in the study
participants.
Results: The mean age of study participants was 32.6±8.71years with 56 (68.3%) were males and 26 (31.7%)
were females. Out of 82 dengue fever patients, 61 (74.4%) had mild illness while 21 (25.6%) had severe form of
dengue fever. 53 (64.6%) had normal albumin levels while 29 (35.4%) had deranged albumin levels. Pearson chi square analysis revealed that deranged albumin levels and wide pulse pressure had statistically significant
relationship with presence of severe dengue fever in our study participants (P-value<0.001).
Conclusion: Patients with deranged albumin levels and wide pulse pressure during the course of illness were
more at risk of having severe dengue fever.