Use of pentoxifylline in treatment of children with dengue hemorrhagic fever.

The current treatment for dengue hemorrhagic fever largely consists of supportive care. The drug pentoxifylline has been shown to blunt the proinflammatory actions of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a key mediator of dengue hemorrhagic fever. We performed a pilot study evaluating pentoxifylline's effect on 55 children with dengue hemorrhagic fever. We believe our findings support the existing literature on its potential use in severe infection.