CHICKENPOX IN CHILDREN: COMPLICATIONS AND THEIR CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/1681-2727.2025.2.15298Keywords:
chickenpox, complications, phlegmon, pneumonia, encephalitis, childrenAbstract
SUMMARY. Chickenpox is one of the most common infectious diseases in childhood. Against the backdrop of consistently high incidence rates of chickenpox over recent years, there is an ongoing trend of an increase in severe and complicated forms of the disease.
Objective. To analyze the cases of complications from chickenpox in children.
Patients and Methods. The study observed 148 patients aged from 4 months to 18 years with chickenpox, who were hospitalized at the Lviv Regional Infectious Clinical Hospital for 6 months in 2024. The diagnosis of chickenpox was based on typical clinical manifestations of the disease, considering the epidemiological history and the results of standard laboratory tests.
Research Results. A complicated course of chickenpox was diagnosed in 31.8 % of the patients. The most common complications were pneumonia (18.9 %), bacterial skin infections (5.4 %), and encephalitis (4.1 %). A rare combination of varicella encephalitis and purulent skin infection in the form of multiple abscesses on the limbs in a three-year-old child was characterized by particular severity and prolonged treatment.
Conclusions. Among the complications of chickenpox, bacterial infections predominated. Despite pneumonia being the most common complication, potentially dangerous conditions in terms of unfavorable disease outcomes include phlegmonous skin and subcutaneous tissue infections. Ataxic encephalitis developed during the phase of subsiding acute disease manifestations and had a benign course in all patients.
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