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Low complication rate in immunocompromised children with varicella‐zoster virus infections in a single centre
Author(s) -
Shamriz Oded,
BenAmi Roni,
Averbuch Diana,
Reif Shimon
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15118
Subject(s) - medicine , hazard ratio , varicella zoster virus , complication , pediatrics , medical record , retrospective cohort study , confidence interval , mortality rate , surgery , virus , immunology
Aim Recent studies focusing on morbidity and mortality rates of immunocompromised children with varicella‐zoster virus (VZV) infections are scarce. We aimed to summarise our experience. Methods The study was a retrospective analysis of the medical records of children, who were admitted to Hadassah‐Hebrew University Medical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel, during the period of 2008‐2016. Data regarding baseline characteristics, treatment and outcome were extracted from patient's medical files. Results We enrolled 74 patients (43% males) with a mean age of 8 (1‐19) years. Most patients (72%) had no reported complications. Clinical outcome was favourable with 73 (99%) patients who had completely recovered and none died. Multivariable analysis identified the presence of fever ( P = .005 and 0.02; hazard ratio (HR) 7.72 and 17.61 , for total and herpes zoster groups, respectively ) and prolonged interval period from clinical presentation to treatment onset ( P = .021 and 0.025; HR 1.68 and 2.26 , respectively), as associated with higher rates of complications. Conclusion Our results found low complication rate of VZV‐associated infections in immunocompromised children admitted to a single centre. This should encourage conducting further large multicentre studies evaluating management of low‐risk patients with oral acyclovir treatment.