| Summary: | Context: There are very few studies regarding the clinical patterns and manifestations of a very common viral infection, Varicella, especially from south India. Aims: To study the cutaneous manifestation of Varicella with an emphasis on vaccination status. Settings and Design: Cross sectional study. Methods and Material: A total of 118 patients attending the Dermatology OPD of a private medical college in coastal Karnataka with cutaneous manifestations of varicella were enrolled. Study period was from January 2010 to December 2010. Statistical analysis used: Data was analysed using SPSS version 11.5. Various frequency distribution tables, diagrams and chi square test were used to describe and analyse the data. Results: Majority of the patients were males (62.7%) and 21-30 years was the most common age group involved. There were 74 students, out of which eight were in the preschool group aged between 3-4 years. Most of the patients visited the hospital on the second day after onset of the symptoms. 108(91.5%) patients complained about the presence of various prodromal symptoms. Scalp was the most common (39.8%) site of onset of the rash. Itching was experienced by 76(64.4%) patients. Peak number of cases (35.6%) was seen in the month of January. The cutaneous rash was most commonly (57.7%) distributed over face, scalp, trunk, upper and lower limbs, with predominantly central distribution. Soft palate was the most common site (87%) involved in the oral cavity. Conclusions: A wide variety of combination symptoms with classical cutaneous polymorphic vesicular rash and oral lesions was seen.
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