Dataset Leptospira+DENV y2021m02

Detection of leptospirosis in febrile patients with a suspicious diagnosis of Dengue fever in northern Peru

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of leptospirosis among febrile patients with a suspicious clinical diagnosis of dengue fever in northern Peru.

Methods: A consecutive cross-sectional study was carried out between March and August 2016 in Piura, Peru. Patients visiting medical outpatient centers with AFI and a probable diagnosis of dengue fever were included. RT-PCR was used for DENV detection and IgM ELISA was used to determine the presence of leptospirosis.

Results: A total of 276 samples from patients with AFI and a suspicious for dengue fever were analyzed. We identified an etiological agent in 121 (47.5%) patients, DENV was detected in 30.4% of the cases, leptospirosis in 11.2% and co-infection by both pathogens was observed in 5.9% of the patients. In this study the most common clinical symptoms accompanying fever reported by the patients were: headache 89.1%, myalgias 86.9% and arthralgias 82.9%. No differences in symptomatology was observed among the different groups.

Conclusions: We found a considerable prevalence of leptospirosis infection among febrile patients with a probable diagnosis of DENV. We conclude that clinicians should have a high index of suspicion to diagnose leptospirosis in AFI patients in resource-limited settings. Accurate and early diagnostic tests are crucial as clinical signs and symptoms may be overlapping