Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Dergisi
2010 , Vol 53 , Num 1
Varicella complication in unvaccinated children
Sağlık Bakanlığı Ankara Dışkapı Çocuk Hastalıkları Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi 1Pediatri Uzmanı, 2Pediatri Doçenti
Varicella is usually a mild self-limited benign disease in immunocompetent
children. Although severe forms and complications were believed to be more
frequent in immunocompromised people, secondary bacterial infections, neurological
complications and even death can occur in healthy chidren. In the present study, we
aimed to describe the incidence of varicella complications in Turkey, where varicella
vaccination has not been routinely performed, and to emphasize the requirement
for varicella vaccination. We performed a retrospective study which included the
data collected from medical records and files of l44 immunocompetent children
who were hospitalized for complications of varicella infections. Complications were
mostly present in preschool children (mean age 4.6±3.2 years). Hospitalizations
were most prominent in June (13.7%) and December (13.7%), and were lowest in
March and September. The most prominent complications were secondary bacterial
infections (53.4%); the other complications in decreasing order of frequency were
neurological complications (25%), gastrointestinal and hepatic complications (8.3%),
hematologic complications (6.4%), varicella pneumonia (2.8%), neonatal varicella
(2.8 %) and disseminated varicella infection (1.4%). Nearly 70% of the secondary
bacterial infections were soft tissue infections including abscess and impetigo.
Cerebellar ataxia (55.5%) was the most common neurological complication. All
patients with neurological complication had full recovery without any significant
sequelae. Neurological complications were more common in older ages. Totally,
three children (2%) in the study group died; two due to disseminated varicella
infection and one with sepsis. In conclusion, since varicella infection are still
associated with complications, universal routine varicella vaccination could help
in reducing the incidence of varicella and its related complications.
Anahtar Kelimeler :
suçiçeği, komplikasyon.