Hospitalizations for Varicella in Children

Abstract

Objective: To describe hospitalizations for varicella and its complications in our hospital and to compare them with published data.

Patients and methods: Retrospective study of hospital records of patients less than 14 years of age hospitalized for varicella or its complications from 1990 to 2000. Newborns were excluded. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed.

Results: We identified 65 children hospitalized for varicella and/or varicella complications, which represent 3.9% of varicella cases who visited the paediatric emergency unit. The mean age was 4.4 ± 2.7 years (72.3 % were 5 years old or younger). Most patients (58.5%) were previously healthy children. The median of the hospital stay was 5 days (range 1-42 days), and 5 children needed admission in paediatric intensive care unit. The most common complications were neurological (32.8 %) and skin/soft tissue infections (26.2%). We also found respiratory complications (14.8%) -specially pneumonia, gastrointestinal (8.2%), haematological (6.6%) and osteoarticular complications (4.9%). We detected invasive group A streptococcal disease in two patients with cellulitis. There were no cases of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing fasciitis, Reye syndrome nor deaths.

Conclusions: Although varicella is usually a benign illness, it may cause severe complications, whose distribution varies for socio-economic and geographic factors,, and it is responsible for high costs to health care system. Inclusion of varicella vaccine ?particularly effective for severe disease? in our immunization schedule should be considered.