Diabetic patients suffering dengue are at risk for development of dengue shock syndrome/severe dengue: Emphasizing the impacts of co-existing comorbidity(ies) and glycemic control on dengue severity

Background/Purpose The impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) on clinical severity of dengue has not been fully understood. We aimed to assess risk factors for dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)/dengue shock syndrome (DSS) and severe dengue (SD) (defined based on the World Health Organization 1997 and 2009 dengue classifications), and additionally identify, among DM2 patients, who are at risk for developing DHF/DSS and severe dengue. Methods A retrospective analysis of dengue patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2010. Risk factors for development of DHF/DSS/SD were identified using multivariate analysis. To elucidate the impacts of coexisting comorbidity(ies) (i.e., hypertension, chronic kidney disease, old stroke, and/or ischemic heart disease) and glycemic control on clinical outcomes of dengue in DM2 patients, the overall DM2 patients and stratified DM2 patients (HbA1c < 7% vs. HbA1c ≧ 7%), with or without comorbidity(ies), were separately compared to controls (patients without any morbidity). Results Of 767 (146 DM2 and 621 controls) included patients, 1.4% suffered DSS and 3.3% SD. While DM2 was an independent risk factor for DSS (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 7.473; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.221–25.146) and SD (AOR = 6.207; 95% CI = 2.464–15.636), only DM2 patients with additional comorbidity(ies) and suboptimal glycemic control (HbA1c ≧ 7%) had significantly higher incidences of non-shock DHF (60.8% vs. 29%), DSS (8.7% vs. 0.8%) and SD (34.8% vs. 1.1%). Conclusions These data could help narrow down the number of targets in the triage for risky DM2 dengue patients to those with suboptimal glycemic control and co-existing comorbidity(ies).