[Severe chickenpox pneumonia]

Abstract

Objective: Retrospective study of the epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic data corresponding to adult patients with chickenpox pneumonia that needed admission in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the last 10 years.

Material and methods: The diagnosis was established through clinicoradiological criteria along the chickenpox progress. Assessed parameters are underlying diseases, pregnancy, smoking habits, analytical data, progress toward adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), need for mechanical ventilation, and pharmacological treatment.

Results: They were studied 8 patients (7 women and 1 man) with an average age of 30 years (range: 25-38). Only one of the patients showed underlying pathology (chronic B hepatitis and alcoholism), and another patient was pregnant with 24 weeks of gestation. All of them were smokers. The respiratory symptoms appeared between the second and fourth day from the onset of the exanthema. All the patients showed dyspnea and in seven of them it was associated to dry cough. The chest x-ray at the time of the admission showed in all the patients a bilateral interstitial infiltrate of basal predominance. In 7 of the 8 cases less than 150,000 platelets/mm3 were observed, in 5 patients an increase of transaminases was detected, and all the patients showed elevation of LDH. In 6 patients hypoxemia (PaO2<60 mmHg) was detected with need in 3 of them of orotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. These 3 patients progressed toward ARDS. All the cases studied were treated with intravenous aciclovir. None of the hospitalized patients died.

Conclusions: Chickenpox pneumonia is a serious complication that can force hospitalization in the ICU. The severity of the disease can range from the observation of asymptomatic radiological alterations up to ARDS. Mortality is high, but is probably declining in recent years due to the early antiviral treatment and to the application of appropriate support measures.