Vietnam patients face critical dengue complications and high medical costs

Two young patients in Vietnam have entered critical condition due to complications from dengue fever. At the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a 16-year-old female patient developed severe complications including shock, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and multi-organ failure. Her condition required the use of VV-ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), a life-support technique acting as an artificial lung, for over a month. Due to the complexity of the treatment, including the use of new-generation antibiotics and continuous blood products, the total medical costs reached nearly 1 billion VND, despite health insurance coverage.

A second 21-year-old patient also presented with initial symptoms of high fever and fatigue before their condition worsened significantly.