Chickenpox in childhood. A review prepared for the UK Advisory Group on Chickenpox on behalf of the British Society for the Study of Infection

Chickenpox in childhood is a milder condition than in older patients, but serious and even fatal complications may occur. These occur especially in immunosuppressed individuals, but can also be seen in normal children. The commonest of these is secondary bacterial infection with staphylococci or streptococci. Reye's syndrome is now rare in chickenpox, since aspirin no longer used in treatment. Aciclovir and VZIG (varicella zoster immune globulin) have a role in the management of chickenpox in the immunosuppressed or immunodeficient child, and aciclovir may be valuable in managing some normal children. Chickenpox should not always be considered a trivial illness.

Published by The Journal of infection, 1998. The guideline itself is at the source linked here.

doi.org/10.1016/s0163-4453(98)80154-0