Introduction:

Dengue is an important arbovirus in terms of morbidity and mortality.

Objective:

Characterize clinically and epidemiologically a group of deceased with hemorrhagic dengue under 15 years of age during the Cuban epidemic of 1981.

Methods:

Retrospective, descriptive study in a sample of 67 patients. The information was extracted from medical records.

Results:

Most of the patients studied were between 3 and 10 years old, with similar distribution between both sexes, mostly white skin, normal weight and with apparent good state of health. The predominant symptoms were fever, vomiting and digestive bleeding, which motivated admission at the 3rd day in most cases. The shock usually appeared between the 4th. and 5th. day, preceded by vomiting or abdominal pain, and associated with increased hematocrit and thrombocytopenia. The most commonly found radiographic signs were opacity and right pleural effusion ; necropsies, gastrointestinal bleeding, serous effusion and zonal mid-hepatic necrosis predominated.

Conclusions:

The clinical-epidemiological study of the cases that died from dengue during the first epidemic suffered in the region of the Americas has made it possible to know the evolutionary particularities of the disease and contributed to the elaboration of guidelines for its care and effective treatment.