Dengue fever: diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Dengue fever is a common tropical infection. This acute febrile illness can be a deadly infection in cases of severe manifestation, causing dengue hemorrhagic shock. In this brief article, I will summarize and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. For diagnosis of dengue, most tropical doctors make use of presumptive diagnosis; however, the definite diagnosis should be based on immunodiagnosis or viral study. Focusing on treatment, symptomatic and supportive treatment is the main therapeutic approach. The role of antiviral drugs in the treatment of dengue fever has been limited, but is currently widely studied.