Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2013 | Case report
Post-dengue parkinsonism
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases | Issue 1/2013
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Background
Dengue is a common illness in the tropics. Equally common are neurological complications that stem from dengue infection. However, to date, parkinsonism following dengue has not been reported in medical literature.
Case presentation
A previously well 18-year old man developed parkinsonism, in addition to other neurological symptoms following serologically confirmed dengue fever. Alternative etiologies were excluded by way of imaging and blood investigations.
Conclusions
The authors detail the first reported case of parkinsonism complicating dengue fever. Keeping rare presentations of common illnesses in mind, it behoves clinicians to consider parkinsonism as a complication following dengue infection. This would prevent injudicious treatment with L-dopa and dopamine agonists. Immunosuppression with steroids has been shown to be helpful in certain cases.