TY - JOUR T1 - Risk of stroke in patients with dengue fever: a population-based cohort study JF - Canadian Medical Association Journal JO - CMAJ SP - E285 LP - E290 DO - 10.1503/cmaj.170994 VL - 190 IS - 10 AU - Hao-Ming Li AU - Ying-Kai Huang AU - Yuan-Chih Su AU - Chia-Hung Kao Y1 - 2018/03/12 UR - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/10/E285.abstract N2 - BACKGROUND: Stroke is a severe neurologic complication of dengue fever, described in only a few case reports. The incidence and risk factors for stroke in patients with dengue remain unclear. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study to investigate the risk of stroke in patients with dengue.METHODS: Using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we included a total of 13 787 patients with dengue newly diagnosed between 2000 and 2012. The control cohort consisted of patients who did not have dengue, matched 1:1 by demographic characteristics and stroke-related comorbidities. We calculated the cumulative incidences and hazard ratios (HRs) of stroke in both cohorts using Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression.RESULTS: The overall incidence rate of stroke was 5.33 per 1000 person-years in the dengue cohort and 3.72 per 1000 person-years in the control cohort, with an adjusted HR of 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.32). The risk of stroke among patients with dengue was highest in the first 2 months after diagnosis (25.53 per 1000 person-years, adjusted HR 2.49, 95% CI 1.48–4.18).INTERPRETATION: Dengue fever was associated with an increased risk of stroke in the first few months after diagnosis. The effect of dengue on stroke may be acute rather than chronic. ER -