Endothelial Dysfunction in Dengue Hemorhagic Fever

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is characterized by fever, bleeding, and pleural effusion which may be caused by increased vascular permeability. Based on these findings it is assumed that endothelial dysfunction plays a role in the pathogenesis of DHF. The aims of this study was to know whether endothelial dysfunction occurs in DHF by measuring sVCAM-1, vWF, and D dimer. The relationship between endothelial dysfunction and severity of the disease would also be analyzed. This was a cross sectional study which involved 31 DHF patients and 30 non DHF fever patients as control group. The level of sVCAM-1 was determined by ELISA method, vWF by enzyme linked fluorescent assay , and D dimer by sandwich enzyme immunoassay. The results indicated that mean of sVCAM-1 level in DHF group and control group were 1323 ng/mL and 1003 ng/mL, while standard deviation (SD) were 545 ng/mL and 576 ng/mL respectively. The mean of vWF level in DHF group and control group were 284% and 327%, with SD 130% and 141% respectively. The level of sVCAM-1 did not correlate with platelet count, albumin level, D dimer level and severity of disease. There was a weak correlation between vWF level with D dimer and severity of disease ( r = 0,472 and r = -0,450 ). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that endothelial dysfunction occurs in DHF, but there is no correlation between sVCAM-1 with severity of disease, only a weak correlation between vWF with D dimer and severity of disease is found