Disseminated varicella at autopsy in children with cancer

The autopsies of seven patients with disseminated varicella were reviewed. Six patients had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and the seventh had Hodgkin's disease. All the patients were on chemotherapy at the time of commencement of their varicella rash, and at autopsy only the patient with Hodgkin's disease had residual tumor. The typical anatomic lesion of varicella was one of focal necrosis (often hemorrhagic) with eosinophilic intranuclear (Cowdry type-A) inclusions. In fatal disseminated varicella the complications most commonly encountered at autopsy were interstitial pneumonitis, hepatitis, necrotizing splenitis and lymphadenitis, esophagitis, enteritis, colitis, and pancreatitis. The most significant of these complications appears to be the interstitial pneumonitis, as the major cause of death is respiratory failure.