ĐẶC ĐIỂM LÂM SÀNG VÀ CÁC YẾU TỐ LIÊN QUAN CỦA BỆNH THUỶ ĐẬU

Abstract

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of patients with chickenpox at Can Tho Dermatology Hospital. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 65 patients diagnosed with chickenpox and treated at Can Tho Dermatology Hospital from August 2024 to August 2025. Results: Most patients were aged 18–44 years (75.7%). A high proportion of patients were unvaccinated (90%), while vaccination rates were low (7.1% with two doses and 2.9% with one dose). Regarding exposure history, 55.7% had no identified source, 30% reported contact with chickenpox patients, and 14.3% had contact with herpes zoster cases. The most common local symptom was itching (91.4%), mostly at moderate intensity (41.4%), with an average NRS score of 3.97 ± 2.455. Burning was the least frequent symptom (9.4%), mostly mild (10%), with a mean NRS score of 0.19 ± 0.490. The main systemic symptoms were fever (97.1%), fatigue (65.7%), and upper respiratory tract infection (8.6%). Lesions were most frequently found on the head/neck (100%) and trunk (100%), followed by the arms (95.7%), legs (47.1%), and mucosa (8.6%). The predominant skin lesions were erythematous macules and vesicles (100%), with pustules (18.6%), crusts (21.4%), and scars (4.3%) occurring less frequently. The majority of cases were mild (85.7%). Complications were present in 20% of patients, all of which were secondary bacterial infections. Conclusion: Chickenpox mainly affected adults aged 18–44 years and was generally mild. The disease was characterized by typical cutaneous lesions, moderate itching, and fever as the most prominent symptoms. Complications were uncommon and mostly secondary infections. The very high proportion of unvaccinated patients highlights the urgent need to strengthen varicella vaccination programs and promote appropriate skin care practices to reduce transmission and complications.