Article Text
Reminder of important clinical lesson
A case for varicella vaccination in the immunosuppressed
Summary
A middle-aged man with long-standing Crohn disease maintained in remission on low-dose immunosuppression presented with abdominal pain. Over the following few days he developed a vesicular rash, became dyspnoeic, confused and had two seizures. Despite high-dose intravenous aciclovir, he died. Disseminated varicella zoster virus, the cause of his death, could potentially have been prevented had he received varicella vaccination at an earlier stage.
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Footnotes
Competing interests: none.
Patient consent: Patient/guardian consent was obtained for publication.