[Varicella-zoster infection--extreme clinical aspects]

Infections with the varicella-zoster (VZ) virus are a constant of our everyday practice. The aim of the present study is that of underlining unusual aspects of the infection with the VZ virus--primary infection in adults and herpes zoster in children. If varicella, or chickenpox, has been traditionally considered a childhood disease, nowadays, an increased number of adults are affected by primary infections. On the contrary, more and more children present the secondary form of the infection, which appears as herpes zoster, a disease usually diagnosed in adults.

We studied the observation papers of adult patients with varicella, hospitalized in our clinic during 2004-2005 and we analyzed the herpes zoster manifestations in non-HIV children, diagnosed with the disease during the same period of time.

During 2004-2005, 34 adult patients were diagnosed with varicella, while 10 children presented herpes zoster. 16 of the adults with varicella were 25-34 years old. One of the children with herpes zoster was less than one year old. All the adults with varicella were treated with acyclovir; in 14 cases, the therapy was supplemented with rifampicin. All the children with herpes zoster came from rural areas. The pathology that determined the decrease of general immunity was represented by neoplasia (3 cases), malnutrition and rickets (2 cases), associated infectious pathologies--bronchopneumonia (3 cases).

Varicella in adults has an increased incidence, which is underestimated, in our opinion. Its loud clinical manifestations impose the therapy with acyclovir. Herpes zoster in children reveals significant subsidiary pathologies and a depressed immune system that impose special medical care and many days of hospitalization.