Introduction Dengue is caused by a virus from the Flaviviridae family. Although the literature on this disease is sparse, some studies have shown the effects of dengue in the first trimester of pregnancy. However, the sample size in these studies is limited. Aims and objective The current study aimed to compare foetomaternal outcomes in pregnant patients with dengue in early (< 24 weeks) and late (> 24 weeks) pregnancy and find the prevalence and predictive factors for abortion in pregnant patients with dengue. Material and methods This retrospective study included all pregnant patients (n = 62) admitted to the labour room over a period of six years from April 2016 to February 2022 and who were diagnosed with dengue anytime during pregnancy. Data were collected from their medical records and analysed. Differences between the two groups were assessed by the Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney U test. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results Out of a total of 62 patients, those with dengue at a gestational age of less than 24 weeks (n = 15) had more incidence of intrauterine growth restriction (55.6 vs 12.9%) (p value = 0.012) and oligohydramnios (66.7 vs 17.9%) (p value = 0.007). The incidence of abortion was 33.3%; among the patients at a gestational age of less than 12 weeks, 71.4% had an abortion. When the patients who had abortions were compared with those who did not, the factors predicting abortion were found to be a history of previous abortion (p value = 0.004), gestational age of less than 12 weeks (p value = 0.003), and decreased platelet count (p value = 0.03). Conclusion The effect of dengue infection in early pregnancy includes abortion, intrauterine growth restriction, and oligohydramnios, and these patients should be managed in a tertiary care hospital.
Keywords: abortion; dengue; fetomaternal effects; predictive factors; pregnancy.
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