Case report: primary varicella infection in a 83 year old patient

Abstract

Varicella is a common and highly contagious disease of childhood which is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV). A 83 year old man consulted our clinic with black crusted lesions without ichting on his trunk for one week. Dermatological examination showed multipl necrotic ulcerations on his trunk, scalp and upper parts of extremities and a few vesicles on his left femoral area. He has hypertension for 45 years, diabetes mellitus for 10 years, chronic kidney failure for one year and because of those diseases he’s been using a lot of medicines. He had a heart attack and coronary bypass surgery six months ago. He had many infections in different times and had given many antibiyotics. The patient consulted Dermatolgy for skin lesions. Skin biopsy showed VZV infection. We reported this case due to its rarity in older ages and to emphasize that the possibilty of primary varicella infection should be kept in mind as an entity for differential diagnosis during the clinical evolutions vesiculobullous diseases in older ages.