The risk of serious complications in obese children with dengue fever is very high
Patient H.V.T (9 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) was taken by his family to Children's Hospital 2 with a high fever for 3 consecutive days, accompanied by vomiting and abdominal pain. At the same time, the child has a physical source of overweight and obesity, which is a factor that is warned to increase the risk of severe progression when suffering from socialism.
According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Qui - Acting Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital 2 Ho Chi Minh City - at first, the baby only showed warning signs, was tested and closely monitored. However, a few hours later, the child vomited continuously, the stomach pain gradually increased, the stomach was bloated and began to show signs of shock. The doctor had to IV the fluid actively, but because the fluid was released too quickly and too much into the pleural cavity and abdominal wall, the child fell into a state of duodenal overflow and respiratory failure. Doctors had to put the baby under constant positive air pressure (CPAP) to support breathing, helping the lungs expand, reducing breathing congestion.
Obsessed children have thick breast walls, high fat tissue, weak respiratory responsiveness, and when they are overweight, they are more likely to get tired and have difficulty breathing sooner. Translation is also difficult because it is difficult to determine the exact volume. If there is no IV, the child is likely to be in deep shock, if there is an IV, the lung will easily swell and there will be more outbreaks, Dr. Qui explained.
The case of a 9-year-old boy is not uncommon in the current increase in social insurance cases. Each day the department receives about 16 cases - 3 times more than a month ago. Most of them are children aged 8-14, many of whom are obese.
Dr. Qui warned: The summer vacation is the time when children eat, do erratic activities, are less active, and increase the risk of obesity. If they have axH, these children can easily get worse and need to be detected and closely monitored.
Social problems are unusual, serious illnesses increase in adults and people with underlying diseases
According to Dr. CK2 Phan Vinh Tho - Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases D, Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the dengue fever situation this year is having many unusual cases. Normally, the disease tends to decrease in the first quarter (from January to March), but this year, the number of cases is still recorded at the same level, even with many more severe cases. Currently, when entering the rainy season, the number of cases has begun to increase sharply again.
"Social security often flare up during the rainy season because river mosquitoes breed in clean water containers around the house such as potted plants, old tires... There is no need to hold a stagnant pond, just a little water in it can make mosquitoes grow", Dr. Tho warned.
Notably, the number of severe cases tends to increase and appear more often in the elderly, people with underlying diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver failure, chronic kidney disease... According to statistics from the Department of Infectious Diseases D, up to 50% of patients are currently infected with streptococcus, many of which are being treated in the Intensive Care Unit. A female patient over 40 years old, obese, in a state of severe acute liver failure, had to have multiple huyet replacements, blood filtration and mechanical ventilation for the past two weeks.
"Social security is very unpredictable, there are cases where the morning is still stable, and in the afternoon, I have to take a ventilator. In particular, obese people, pregnant women, the elderly and children under 1 year old are susceptible to weight gain, added Dr. Tho.
Some rescue statistics from the Department of Infectious Diseases D also recorded a link between recurrent shocks and pre-existing COVID-19 cases. Although the mechanism is not yet clear, this is something that experts are continuing to monitor and analyze.
Dr. Tho emphasized: "People are absolutely not subjective. When there are symptoms of fever and fatigue, you need to go to a medical facility for monitoring, especially during the critical stage of the disease - from the 4th to the 7th day when the disease can worsen very quickly".
More than 8,500 cases of dengue fever since the beginning of the year
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), in week 23 (February 2 - 8), Ho Chi Minh City recorded 320 cases of dengue fever, an increase of 13.1% compared to the average of the previous 4 weeks. The total number of dengue fever cases accumulated from the beginning of 2025 to week 23 is 8,595 cases. Districts with cases over 100,000 people include Can Gio district, Cu Chi district and Nha Be district.
