From the Research
Blood counts in patients with dengue virus typically normalize within 3-5 days after reaching their nadir (lowest point). The recovery phase begins after the critical period, usually around day 4-7 of illness, when platelet counts start to rise and white blood cell counts begin to normalize 1. This normalization process occurs as the body clears the virus and inflammatory responses subside. Patients may notice a reduction in symptoms during this recovery period, though fatigue can persist for weeks. The exact timing of blood count recovery varies between individuals and depends on several factors including the severity of infection, patient age, comorbidities, and whether it's a primary or secondary dengue infection. Secondary infections often have more pronounced hematological abnormalities and may take slightly longer to normalize. Some key points to consider:
- Adequate hydration and supportive care during the recovery phase help facilitate the normalization process, though no specific medications accelerate blood count recovery.
- Prophylactic platelet transfusion in clinically stable dengue patients was associated with significant delay in platelet recovery and increased duration of hospitalization 2.
- The mechanisms of poor platelet recovery need to be determined, and patients with poor platelet recovery had longer hospitalizations but no significant difference in other clinical outcomes, regardless of transfusion 3.
- Monitoring of blood pressure is an important part of management of dengue illness, and large scale studies of temporal trend of blood pressure in adult dengue are lacking 4.
- Elderly patients and those with hypertension showed consistently higher SBP and DBP throughout their hospitalization, as compared with their younger and non-hypertensive counterparts 4. It is essential to prioritize the single most recent and highest quality study, which in this case is 3, to guide clinical decision-making and ensure the best possible outcomes for patients with dengue virus.