Diagnosis of dengue- an overview

The first investigation ordered on clinical suspicion of dengue is complete blood count. The classical dengue triad includes increased hematocrit, atypical plasmacytoidlymphocytosis and thrombocytopenia [1].Hemoconcentration (hematocrit elevated > 45% or by > 20% from previous value) is diagnostic of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. Further confirmation is usually made with Dengue Antigen test. During early stages of the disease around 4-5 days of fever onset, virus isolation, nucleic acid or antigen detection are used to diagnose the virus from serum, plasma or tissues. However serology remains the method of choice during convalescence. Other tests include antibody titre for dengue virus types, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Liver function tests, Serum protein & albumin levels & Coagulation panel.