Dengue fever and leptospirosis can both occur in the tropics and both share many clinical findings. It can be challenging to distinguish between the two conditions.
Features shared by dengue fever and leptospirosis:
(1) headache
(2) myalgia
(3) abdominal pain
(4) vomiting
(5) diarrhea
(6) dyspnea
(7) bleeding manifestations
(8) conjunctival suffusion
(9) hepatomegaly
(10) splenomegaly
(11) tachypnea
(12) hypotension
Features suggesting leptospirosis:
(1) WBC count > 11,000 per µL
(2) ESR > 40 mm
(3) serum creatinine in > 2 mg/dL
(4) serum total bilirubin > 2 mg/dL
(5) serum CK > 500 U/L
(6) serum albumin < 3 g/dL
The presence of several of these findings favors a diagnosis of leptospirosis.
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