The recent publication on sonographic evidence in dengue is very interesting.Reference Motla, Manaktala, Gupta, Aggarwal, Bhoi and Aggarwal1 Motla et al. concluded that “Ultrasonographic evidence of ascites, pleuro-pericardial effusion, and gallbladder wall edema are rapidly acquired, non-invasive markers of dengue and can be helpful before serological investigations become available.”Reference Motla, Manaktala, Gupta, Aggarwal, Bhoi and Aggarwal1
I would like to share some ideas on this work. It is interesting to find there is sonographic evidence on dengue infection. However, the question is its actual clinical usefulness. The test seems not to be applicable for all settings. The cost of the test should be considered. Also, the sonographic findings are nonspecific. In addition, the interpretation of the results needs sonographic expertise. Molta et al. mentioned that the sonographic study can be helpful before getting serological results. Actually, dengue serology studies do not take a long time. Some tests such as dengue Immunoglobulin M (IgM) tests can be done within few minutes. In addition, the simple screening tool called the tourniquet test can be more rapid and less expensive as a preliminary tool for diagnosis of dengue in endemic areas.Reference Wiwanitkit2
Abbreviations:
IgM = Immunoglobulin M
