Introduction: Dengue in infants is not often studied in detail due to practical limitations and the information in Indian literature regarding the same are limited to only a few case series. However, even primary Dengue illness can have life threatening complications in infants. Methods: In this single institution retrospective study, case records of all the infants admitted with confirmed Dengue fever between January 2013 and December 2017 were analyzed for their clinical presentation, physical examination findings, laboratory and radiological parameters, complications and final management outcome. Results: Out of the 295 confirmed pediatric Dengue cases, 14 cases (4.8%) were infants. Predominant clinical presentation was fever, rash, irritability, vomiting and poor oral intake. Complications like hemodynamic instability, internal and external hemorrhages, hepatic dysfunction and disseminated intravascular coagulation were more common in infants as compared to other age groups. Conclusion: Infantile Dengue cases, although being rare, are at more risk for life threatening complications and thus require intensive clinical and biochemical monitoring, judicious fluid rehydration and other symptomatic management as required. Larger studies with greater sample size are required to clearly elucidate the novel pathogenetic mechanisms for increased virulence of primary Dengue illness in infantile age group and also to optimize the management for these cases.

Keywords: Dengue; Infants; Hemorrhages