The following are the most important diseases or complications that can be caused by varicella (chickenpox), especially in immunocompromised patients:
Respiratory system (J00-J99)
- Pneumonia (pneumonia); not uncommonly severe in pregnant women; lethality of untreated varicella pneumonia in pregnancy: -44% (increasing with gestational age).
Eyes and eye appendages (H00-H59).
- Corneal lesions (corneal changes).
Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96).
- Fetal varicella syndrome (FVS)-condition characterized by neurologic disease, skin changes, eye disease, and bone abnormalities; occurs when the mother becomes ill between the fifth and 24th weeks of pregnancy (see “Chickenpox (varicella) in pregnancy” below)
- Severe courses of varicella infection in newborns whose mother contracted varicella shortly before birth (within five days before birth).
Blood, blood-forming organs – immune system (D50-D90).
- Hemorrhagic diathesis (increased bleeding tendency).
Cardiovascular system (I00-I99)
- Apoplexy (stroke)
- Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle)
- Varicella zoster virus vasculopathy (VZV vasculopathy) – parainfectious arteriopathies (arterial disease that arises in direct connection with the infectious disease, but is not directly caused by its causative agent); can lead to acute ischemic infarctionConclusion: in the case of jaein juvenile (child) apoplexy (stroke) should be asked about chickenpox / herpes zoster as part of the medical history.
Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).
- Bacterial superinfection of the skin symptoms
- Herpes zoster (shingles; after infection, varicella zoster virus (VZV) remains latent in the neural pathways and can lead to herpes zoster after endogenous reactivation)
- Sepsis (blood poisoning), e.g. infection with streptococcus type A due toscratching (0.2-0.3 ‰)
Liver, gallbladder and bile ducts – Pancreas (pancreas) (K70-K77; K80-K87).
- Hepatitis (inflammation of the liver)
Skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99)
- Scarring
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)
- Arthritis (inflammation of the joints)
Ears – mastoid process (H60-H95)
- Otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear)
Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99)
- Anti-NMDA receptor IgG-positive encephalitis – chronic autoimmune disease that may occur secondary to varicella zoster encephalitis.
- Epilepsy (seizures).
- Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS; synonyms: Idiopathic polyradiculoneuritis, Landry-Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome); two courses: acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (peripheral nervous system disease); idiopathic polyneuritis (diseases of multiple nerves) of spinal nerve roots and peripheral nerves with ascending paralysis and pain; usually occurs after infections.
- Meningitis (meningitis).
- Myelitis transversa – diffuse inflammation of the spinal cord.
- Reye syndrome – acute encephalopathy (pathological change of the brain) with concomitant fatty liver hepatitis (fatty liver inflammation) after a passed viral infection in young children; occurs on average one week after the resolution of the previous illness.
- Varicella zoster encephalitis (brain inflammation).
- Cerebellar ataxia – gait unsteadiness due to a disturbance in cerebellar function.
Pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium (O00-O99).
- Abortion (miscarriage); occurs when the mother contracts varicella in the first and second trimesters (third trimesters of pregnancy)
Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – sex organs) (N00-N99).
- Nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys)