Gall Bladder Wall Thickening in Dengue Fever – Aid in Labelling Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and a Marker of Severity

Introduction Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease spread by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Dengue epidemics have contributed to a great economic burden, especially in South-East Asia. This study aimed to determine gall bladder wall thickness (GBWT) in patients with dengue fever, assess its sensitivity and specificity to identify dengue hemorrhagic fever, and also compare gall bladder wall thickening (GWBT) with platelets, hematocrit, and leucocyte count. Materials and methods This prospective observational study was conducted in the dengue ward of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from September 2019 to January 2020, i.e., four months. Patients admitted to the dengue ward diagnosed as seropositive and provided consent were enrolled into the study. Laboratory investigations (blood complete picture, liver function tests, renal function tests) were collected and recorded. Ultrasonography was performed on admission and subsequently during a hospital stay. Patients were divided into two groups: those with gall bladder wall thickness ≤ 3mm and ˃3mm. All data were entered and analyzed on SPSS version 24 (IBM Inc., Armonk, USA). Results Out of 180 patients, 122 (67.8%) were male, and 58 (32.2%) female. The mean age was 33 ± 13 years. One hundred and six patients (58.9%) were diagnosed with dengue fever, 68 (37.8%) - dengue hemorrhagic fever, and six (3.3%) - dengue shock syndrome. The most common finding was gall bladder wall thickness ˃3mm (69/180; 38.3%) followed by ascites (38.1%). Sixty-two patients out of 69 (89.9%) with GBWT ˃3mm were managed as dengue hemorrhagic fever (p=0.000). Alanine transaminase (ALT), platelet, and total leukocyte count (TLC) were associated positively with an edematous gall bladder wall (p<0.005). The mean gall bladder wall thickness for dengue hemorrhagic fever was 6.4mm ± 2.5 mm. A GBWT value of 3.5mm was found to have 94.6% specificity and 91.2% sensitivity. Conclusion Gall bladder wall edema is strongly correlated with dengue hemorrhagic fever. Hence it should be assessed in all patients with dengue fever.