PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Li, Hao-Ming
AU  - Huang, Ying-Kai
AU  - Su, Yuan-Chih
AU  - Kao, Chia-Hung
TI  - Risk of stroke in patients with dengue fever: a population-based cohort study
AID  - 10.1503/cmaj.170994
DP  - 2018 Mar 12
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - E285--E290
VI  - 190
IP  - 10
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/10/E285.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/10/E285.full
SO  - CMAJ2018 Mar 12; 190
AB  - BACKGROUND: Stroke is a severe neurologic complication of dengue fever, described in only a few case reports. The incidence and risk factors for stroke in patients with dengue remain unclear. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study to investigate the risk of stroke in patients with dengue.METHODS: Using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we included a total of 13 787 patients with dengue newly diagnosed between 2000 and 2012. The control cohort consisted of patients who did not have dengue, matched 1:1 by demographic characteristics and stroke-related comorbidities. We calculated the cumulative incidences and hazard ratios (HRs) of stroke in both cohorts using Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression.RESULTS: The overall incidence rate of stroke was 5.33 per 1000 person-years in the dengue cohort and 3.72 per 1000 person-years in the control cohort, with an adjusted HR of 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.32). The risk of stroke among patients with dengue was highest in the first 2 months after diagnosis (25.53 per 1000 person-years, adjusted HR 2.49, 95% CI 1.48–4.18).INTERPRETATION: Dengue fever was associated with an increased risk of stroke in the first few months after diagnosis. The effect of dengue on stroke may be acute rather than chronic.