ROLE OF CYTOKINES AS MOLECULAR MARKER OF DENGUE SEVERITY
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Accepted: April 12, 2018
Authors
Objective: Dengue infection is a rapidly spreading vector-borne disease and is endemic in Indian subcontinent. It has varied manifestations ranging from subclinical infection to severe fatal shock syndrome. This study aimed to estimate cytokine level in dengue patients and correlate them with dengue severity.
Methods: Cases of Dengue fever diagnosed in the Department of Medicine of our institute from July 2015 to November 2016 were included in the study. The clinical features, biochemical, hematological and radiological parameters along with cytokine levels (Interferon-gamma, Interleukin-6 and Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha) were recorded in all patients.
Results: Out of 80 confirmed cases of dengue included in the study, 50 had non severe dengue (Group 1) and 30 patients had severe dengue (Group 2). The mean levels of serum TNF-? in group 2 (213.17±266.9 pg/mL, median= 62.5 pg /ml) were significantly higher than the mean levels in patients in dengue group 1 (112.8±213.1 pg/mL, median=20pg/ml) (p<0.043). Similarly, the mean levels of serum IFN-? in group 2 (28.4±56.2 pg/mL, median=10.5pg/ml) were significantly higher than the mean levels in patients in group 1 (11.8 ± 9.2pg/mL, median=8.5pg/ml) (p<0.002). The levels of IL-6 were also higher in severe dengue group as compared to non severe dengue but these results were not significant (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Increased cytokines may play a role in pathogenesis of severe manifestations of dengue and can be targeted to halt the progression of disease severityEthics Approval
Original article
Department of Medicine






