Table 1.
Characteristics of 1263 children with varicella-related hospitalization (VRH), with and without specific varicella-related complications (VRCs); Bavaria, 2005–2011
| All children hospitalized with varicella (VRH) | Hospitalized varicella patients with specific complications (VRC) | Hospitalized varicella patients without specific complications | p valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 1263 | N = 954 | N = 309 | ||
| n (%) or median (IQR) | n (%) or median (IQR) | n (%) or median (IQR) | ||
| Demographic data | ||||
| Gender male | 689 (54.6) | 518 (54.3) | 171 (55.3) | 0.793 |
| Age (years) | 3.0 (1.0–5.0) | 3.0 (1.0–5.0) | 4.0 (1.0–5.5) | 0.111 |
| Age groups | ||||
| 0–4 years | 856 (67.8) | 661 (69.3) | 195 (63.1) | 0.114 |
| 5–9 years | 331 (26.2) | 240 (25.2) | 91 (29.4) | |
| 10–16 years | 76 (6.0) | 53 (5.6) | 23 (7.4) | |
| Underlying chronic conditionsb | ||||
| At least one underlying medical condition | 270 (21.4) | 169 (17.7) | 101 (32.7) | < 0.001*** |
| Malignancies/hematologic disorder/disorders of the immune system | 113 (8.9) | 64 (6.7) | 49 (15.9) | < 0.001*** |
| Neurologic disorder | 48 (3.8) | 30 (3.1) | 18 (5.8) | 0.039* |
| Failure to thrive/developmental disorder/preterm birth | 34 (2.7) | 25 (2.6) | 9 (2.9) | 0.840 |
| Cardiovascular/pulmonary disorders | 32 (2.5) | 26 (2.7) | 6 (1.9) | 0.537 |
| Metabolic disorders | 28 (2.2) | 20 (2.1) | 8 (2.6) | 0.657 |
| Ear/nose/throat/eye | 20 (1.6) | 17 (1.8) | 3 (1.0) | 0.436 |
| Congenital malformation | 10 (0.8) | 8 (0.8) | 2 (0.6) | 1.000 |
| Genitourinary disorders | 8 (0.6) | 5 (0.5) | 3 (1.0) | 0.413 |
| Syndromal disease | 7 (0.6) | 5 (0.5) | 2 (0.6) | 0.682 |
| Other comorbidity | 63 (5.0) | 39 (4.1) | 24 (7.8) | 0.015* |
| Hospital stay and outcome | ||||
| Varicella infection/complication main reason for hospital admission (= main diagnostic code) | 1082 (85.7) | 884 (92.7) | 198 (64.1) | < 0.001*** |
| Duration of hospital stay (days) | 3.0 (2.0–6.0) | 4.0 (2.0–6.0) | 2.0 (1.7–4.0) | < 0.001*** |
| Complex intensive care treatment | 5 (0.4) | 5 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0.343 |
| Fatalities | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 |
***Significant at 0.1% level; **significant at 1% level; *significant at 5% level
ap value for comparison of children hospitalized with varicella with and without a specific complication; Pearson’s Chi2 or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate and Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables
bMultiple nominations possible