DENGUE

A patient was admitted under my care last night. Platelet 36 but no bleeding or any signs of hemorrhage both inside his body or outside thru the nose, mouth or any rashes on the legs and arms which are signs of DENGUE. You see, once the platelet count of a patient goes below 50, some of them bleed profusely inside the intestines and thru the nose. The normal is 120.
At midnight, text message from my resident showed platelet 25 but no bleeding episode. Most patients die when they bleed without platelet concentrate transfusion. But if transfusion is done too early, it is useless. By 6am this morning, my 16 yr old male patient has only platelet 12. I have requested for 6 units of platelet concentrate Let us wait for the next platelet count this 12 noon local time.