Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of severe varicella of adult and children in the Sylvanus Olympio teaching hospital Lomé Togo

Abstract

Objective: To describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of severe varicella in adults and children. Methods: We prospectively studied over 5 years, from February 2007 to January 2012 all cases of severe varicella who were admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases and Pneumology of Sylvanus Olympio teaching hospital of Lomé. The diagnosis of severe varicella was clinic. All patients were tested for risk factors such as HIV status, diabetes and malnutrition in children. All patients received antiviral therapy with aciclovir. Result: A total of 86 cases of severe varicella on 645 cases of varicella were collected. Among the patients, 41 (47.67%) were aged 2 to 5 years and 71 (82.5%) were aged less than 15 years. Thirty people including 26 children younger than 5 years were infected with HIV-1 and five others under 3 years were malnourished. The clinical evolution was marked by gravity components like the existence of meningoencephalitis in more than 61% of cases, Reye's syndrome in more than 9% of cases, acute respiratory distress in over 77% of case. Mortality occurred in 50% of cases. Conclusion: HIV infection and malnutrition have emerged as major causes of morbidity and mortality during chickenpox.