Aims of study: To describe the characteristics of paediatric varicella in patients admitted through the emergency department (ED) of the Armand-Trousseau Children hospital in Paris and the evolution of the causes of admission during the study period.
Study design: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study from March 1990 to February 2001.
Results: One hundred and eight children were hospitalized for varicella during these 11 years. Sixty per cent were under 2 years of age and all but one were immunocompetent. The first cause of admission was the presence of at least 1 complication (83,3%) classified as: cutaneous (34%), digestive (19,8,%), respiratory (17,6%), neurological (15,3%) and ENT complications (8,8%). Over 11 years, the rate of overall complications remained stable but there was an important increase in varicella cases admitted through the ED mainly due to increase in cutaneous superinfections.
Conclusion: These data confirm the potential severity of varicella and underline the emerging problem of increasing cutaneous complications. Additional studies are necessary to address this phenomenon and to determine optimal prophylactic measures.