On June 19, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Van Quang, Head of the Department of Intensive Care and Anti-Poisoning, Children's Hospital 1 (HCMC) said that this unit had just received and treated a 12-year-old girl with severe dengue shock.
Transfusion of 10 liters of blood saves the life of a critically ill child
Previously, the patient (12 years old, residing in Tra Vinh ) had a high fever for 3 consecutive days, nausea, and started menstruating. On the fourth day, the child vomited a lot, had menstruated, and had bloody stools, leading to severe blood loss. The patient was diagnosed with severe dengue shock syndrome with gastrointestinal bleeding by Tra Vinh Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital.
At this time, the red blood cell index (HCT) in the blood dropped severely, to only 16%. Meanwhile, the normal level is about 40%.
The local hospital immediately started to treat the shock by infusion of fluids, blood and blood products. However, each time the child had a bloody stool, the amount of blood lost was estimated to be about half a liter, making blood replacement insufficient to sustain life.
Faced with a critical condition, the child was urgently consulted and transferred to Children's Hospital 1. Upon admission, the child was in a state of respiratory failure, cardiovascular collapse and severe gastrointestinal bleeding. The HCT index at one point dropped to 10%, indicating a loss of blood volume of up to 3/4 compared to normal.
12-year-old girl hospitalized in severe dengue shock (Photo: Dieu Linh)
Doctors immediately administered anti-shock fluids and blood transfusions. Over the course of more than 24 hours, a total of nearly 10 liters of blood and blood products were transfused into the child's body.
To save the child's life, doctors had to quickly identify and treat two main sources of bleeding: heavy menstruation due to blood clotting disorders from dengue fever and extensive gastrointestinal bleeding.
To save the baby's life, doctors had to quickly identify and treat two main sources of bleeding: heavy menstruation due to blood clotting disorders from dengue fever and extensive gastrointestinal bleeding.
The child underwent endoscopy to stop the bleeding, and hemostatic drugs were used to limit the bleeding. After active treatment, the bleeding rate gradually decreased, and the child's condition began to stabilize. Two days later, the child was taken off the ventilator, and on the fifth day, the bleeding stopped completely, menstruation stopped, and blood clotting function returned to near normal levels.
Doctor Quang assessed that this was a very serious case of dengue fever, with the largest amount of blood transfused among dengue fever cases recorded at the hospital.
"This case shows the severity of dengue fever when it causes severe blood clotting disorders, especially when combined with menstruation and gastrointestinal bleeding. The child's continuous loss of large amounts of blood (about half a liter per bowel movement) makes the blood replacement process difficult.
If the baby had been transferred to the hospital later, the possibility of death on the way would have been very high," said Dr. Quang.
Number of dengue shock syndrome cases increased by 94.74%
Sharing more, the Head of the Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department, Children's Hospital 1 also said that the department is treating 3 severe dengue fever cases, including a 12-year-old girl from Tra Vinh and two other children (10 and 13 years old) from Ho Chi Minh City.
"The department started receiving dengue shock cases from early April-May. In the past few weeks, almost every day there have been cases of dengue shock transferred to the department," Dr. Quang shared.
The Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department, Children's Hospital 1, has continuously received cases of dengue shock recently (Photo: Dieu Linh).
According to statistics from Children's Hospital 1, as of June 15, the number of hospitalized dengue fever cases tended to increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Specifically, in the first 6 months of 2025, Children's Hospital 1 recorded 1,761 cases of dengue fever, a decrease of 52.51% compared to 2024 (3,708 cases) and a decrease of 63.18% compared to 2023 (4,783 cases).
In particular, the hospital also recorded 108 cases of dengue shock in the first 6 months of 2025, an increase of 94.74% compared to 2024 (114 cases) but a decrease of 46.27% compared to 2023 (201 cases).
The number of shock cases increased dramatically in April 2025 (18 cases, up 900% from 2 cases in 2024) and May 2025 (17 cases, up from 0 cases in 2024), indicating the severity of the disease at certain times.
Because dengue fever is easily misdiagnosed with common diseases, Dr. Quang recommends that people should go to the hospital for a check-up immediately after 2-3 days of high fever that does not subside.
In particular, when suffering from dengue fever, it is necessary to closely monitor the patient from the 4th to the 7th day. Because at this stage, even though the fever has subsided, the patient can easily fall into shock, leading to complications that are not treated promptly.
Early diagnosis through blood tests helps detect the disease in time, increasing the chance of effective treatment. If left untreated, complications such as blood clotting disorders or organ damage can complicate treatment.
To reduce the burden of disease and mortality from dengue fever, people can get vaccinated with other measures such as killing larvae and preventing mosquito bites.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/mat-mau-o-at-khi-bi-sot-xuat-huyet-be-gai-truyen-10-lit-mau-20250619140547566.htm
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