Neonatal varicella frequently associated with visceral complications: a retrospective analysis

Neonates are very susceptible to varicella, which usually causes high mortality and morbidity rates among that age group. We analyzed the prognosis and complications of neonates with varicella in a retrospective study that assessed the clinical features, laboratory data, and clinical outcomes of twelve neonates who either had the illness or who were at risk. Based on exposure history, twelve babies were separated into prenatal and postnatal infection groups. Seven cases were categorized as having prenatal infections and five had postnatal varicella infection. Results showed that the major complications in the prenatal infection group included three cases of hepatitis, two of pneumonia, one of pyoderma and one of sepsis. The presence of fever was a good indicator for predicting complications among the prenatal infection group. These complications were not found in the postnatal infection group. We found that prenatal varicella infections appear to have a higher visceral complication rate. However, our patients had a much lower mortality rate than those reported in previous studies. This may be attributed to the administration of acyclovir after delivery.