title: Varicella Skin Complications in Childhood: A Case Series and a Systematic Review of the Literature.
abstract: Even if varicella is generally considered a harmless disease in childhood, severe complications may occur. We examined varicella skin complications (VSCs) in hospitalized immunologically healthy children, over a nine-year period. We also systematically analyzed previous reports to calculate the rate of VSCs in the literature. VSCs occurred in 16.4% of children hospitalized for varicella. This figure is in accordance with the literature, as the range of VSCs was 2.6%-41.2%. Skin complications may represent determinants of hospitalization and of other indirect costs in young children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric and Infectious Diseases Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy. elena.bozzola@opbg.net.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bozzola
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine and Therapeutics Department, Pediatrics and Adolescentology Unit, University of Pavia, Fondazione IRCCS San Matteo, Viale Golgi 19, 27100 Pavia, Italy. mauro.bozzola@unipv.it.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozzola
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric and Infectious Diseases Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy. krzy@opbg.net.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krzysztofiak
authors.affiliation: Multifactorial Disease and Complex Phenotype Research Area, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy. albertoeugenio.tozzi@opbg.net.
authors.forename: Alberto Eugenio
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Tozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dermatologocical Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy. may.elhachem@opbg.net.
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El Hachem
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric and Infectious Diseases Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy. alberto.villani@opbg.net.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology
keywords: children; hospitalization; skin complication; varicella