Background: Clinical manifestations of chikungunya (CHIK) are similar to those of dengue. It would be useful to be able to identify clinical manifestations that could reliably help to differentiate CHIK from dengue and other acute febrile illnesses during a CHIK outbreak in a dengue-endemic area. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted between April and July 2009 in children aged 1 month to 15 years who lived in a CHIK outbreak area in southern Thailand and who had fever <7 days with arthralgia/arthritis, myalgia or rash. CHIK was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction or the indirect immunofluorescence test. Results: Fifty patients were suspected of having CHIK, of whom 32 were confirmed, 1 had coinfection with dengue viral infection (DVI), 10 had dengue alone and 7 had an acute febrile illness. The specificity and positive predictive value of fever and arthralgia together to diagnose CHIK were 47.1% and 74.2%, and the corresponding values of the standard clinical triad (fever, arthralgia, rash) were 70.6% and 83.3%, respectively. Fever ≤2 days, skin rash during fever and white blood cell count ≥ 5000 cells/mm³ were independently and significantly associated with CHIK in comparison with DVI and acute febrile illnesses, with relative risk ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 10.4 (0.9–116) and 13.7 (1.3–145), 13.8 (1.2–164) and 14.8 (1.6–168), and 18.3 (1.7–194) and 1.8 (0.1–20.6), respectively. Conclusions: During a CHIK outbreak in a DVI-endemic area, overdiagnosis of CHIK was common. Skin rash during fever and white blood cell count ≥ 5000 cells/mm³ or specific antigen testing (if available) can be helpful in differentiating CHIK from DVI.

SUMMARY: Limited information is available on the seroprevalence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection and maternal–fetal transmission incidence of CHIKV and dengue virus (DENV) infections during the 2008–2009 CHIKV outbreak in southern Thailand. A community-based post-epidemic seroprevalence study was conducted in parturient women admitted to the Thepa District Hospital in Songkhla Province, Thailand, for delivery from November 2009 to May 2010. The women were tested for chikungunya (CHIK) IgM/IgG and dengue (DEN) IgM/IgG. Cord blood samples were also tested for CHIK IgM or DEN IgM in women who tested positive for CHIK IgM or DEN IgM, respectively. The seroprevalence of CHIKV infection (CHIK IgM or IgG positive) was 227/319 (71·2%) with pre-outbreak seroprevalence (IgM−/IgG+) of 43·6% and the seroprevalence of DENV infection was 288/319 (90·3%). Complications during pregnancy, newborn outcomes and congenital anomalies were not different in those who had recent, remote or no CHIKV infections. None of the newborns whose mothers were CHIK or DEN IgM positive had cord blood positive for both CHIK and DEN IgM. In conclusion, both CHIKV and DENV are endemic in southern Thailand; during the recent CHIKV outbreak CHIK seroprevalence increased from 43·6% to 71·2%.

Fluoroquinolones reduce occurrence of fever in adult cancer patients who develop neutropenia, but there has been no randomized controlled trial in children, and there are only a few studies considering resistance in intestinal floral after ciprofloxacin has been used. Children younger than 18 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoma scheduled to undergo chemotherapy were randomized to receive oral ciprofloxacin 20mg/kg/day or placebo from the beginning of their chemotherapy. Rectal swab cultures were taken before and at 1 and/or 2 weeks after the intervention. Of the total of 95 patients, 45 and 50 patients received ciprofloxacin and placebo, respectively. Of the 71 patients who developed neutropenia, the proportion of children who developed fever was significantly lower in the ciprofloxacin group than in the placebo group (17/34 [50.0%] versus 27/37 [73.0%]; absolute difference in risk, -23.0%; 95% confidence interval: -45.0% to -0.9%; P = 0.046). Ciprofloxacin significantly reduced the occurrence of febrile episodes in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the induction phase of chemotherapy, but not in patients with lymphoma or in the consolidation phase of chemotherapy. Adverse effects were not different between the groups. After intervention, the percentages of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae susceptible to ciprofloxacin were significantly lower in the ciprofloxacin group. Ciprofloxacin can prevent fever in neutropenic patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia during the induction phase of chemotherapy with good tolerance and no serious side effects. Due to the selective pressure of intestinal flora resistance to ciprofloxacin, the long-term effectiveness needs further investigation.

To determine clinical course and outcomes of liver functions in children with dengue viral infection-caused acute liver failure (ALF), the records of patients aged <15 years attending our institution during 1989–2011 were reviewed. Of the 41 ALF patients, 2, 6 and 33 patients had dengue hemorrhagic fever grade II, III and IV, respectively. Multiorgan failure including respiratory failure, massive bleeding and acute kidney injury occurred in 80.0%, 96.0% and 84.0% of the ALF cases, respectively, with an overall fatality rate of 68.3%. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were highest on the day that the patient developed ALF. Lactate dehydrogenase levels had positive correlations with AST (r = 0.95) and ALT (r = 0.87) (all p < 0.01). The median (interquartile range) days before the AST and ALT levels returned to lower than 200 U/L after the ALF were 10.5 (8.8, 12.8) and 10.5 (7.8, 14.0) days, respectively.

To determine the outcome of severe dengue viral infection (DVI) and the main dengue fatality risk factors. The medical records of patients aged <15 years admitted to Songklanagarind Hospital in southern Thailand during 1989–2011 were reviewed. Patients who had dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) grades III–IV, organ failure (cardiovascular, respiratory, liver, renal or hematologic), impaired consciousness, or aspartate aminotransferase more than 1,000 units/L, were classified as having severe DVI. To determine the fatality risk factors of severe DVI, the classification trees were constructed based on manual recursive partitioning. Of the 238 children with severe DVI, 30 (12.6%) died. Compared to the non-fatal DVI cases, the fatal cases had higher rates of DHF grade IV (96.7% vs 24.5%), repeated shock (93.3% vs 27.9%), acute respiratory failure (ARF) (100% vs 6.7%), acute liver failure (ALF) (96.6% vs 6.3%), acute kidney injury (AKI) (79.3% vs 4.5%), and active bleeding requiring blood transfusion (93.3% vs 5.4%), all p<0.01. The combined risk factors of ARF and active bleeding considered together predicted fatal outcome with sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values of 0.93 (0.78–0.99), 0.97 (0.93–0.99), 0.99 (0.97–1.00), and 0.82 (0.65–0.93), respectively. The likelihood ratios for a fatal outcome in the patients who had and did not have this risk combination were 32.4 (14.6–71.7) and 0.07 (0.02–0.26), respectively. Severe DVI patients who have ARF and active bleeding are at a high risk of death, while patients without these things together should survive.