Maternal and perinatal outcomes of dengue in PortSudan, Eastern Sudan

AIM: To investigate maternal and perinatal outcomes (maternal death, preterm delivery, low birth weight and perinatal mortality) of dengue at PortSudan and Elmawani hospitals in the eastern Sudan. METHOD: This was a retrospective Cohort study where medical files of women with dengue were reviewed. RESULTS: There were 10820 deliveries and 78 (0.7%) pregnant women with confirmed dengue IgM serology at the mean (SD) gestational age of 29.4(8.2) weeks. While the majority of these women had dengue fever (46, 58.9%), hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome were the presentations in 18 (23.0%) and 12, (15.3%) of these women, respectively. There were 17(21.7%) maternal deaths. Fourteen (17.9%) of these 78 women had preterm deliveries and 19 (24.3%) neonates were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit. Nineteen (24.3%) women gave birth to low birth weight babies. There were seven (8.9%) perinatal deaths. Eight (10.2%) patients delivered by caesarean section due to various obstetrical indications. CONCLUSION: Thus dengue has poor maternal and perinatal outcomes in this setting. Preventive measures against dengue should be employed in the region, and more research on dengue during pregnancy is needed.