Clinical features of measles in children hospitalized during 2017–2018 outbreak

Abstract

Background. Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccine, measles remains one of the leading causes of death among children around the world. In 2017–2018, European countries and Ukraine have been experiencing a measles outbreak. In Ukraine, on 41st week since the beginning of 2018, 33,165 people were affected by measles, including 13,184 adults and 19,981 children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical features of measles in children during the current 2017–2018 outbreak. Material and me­thods. Children with measles who underwent in-patient treatment. Results. We studied 140 medical records of hospitalized children diagnosed with measles. Majority of them were children of school age (62.9 %). Children under 2 years of age were only 16.5 % of the total number of patients being studied. In the clinical picture of the vast majority of patients with measles (79.1 %), there were symptoms of the classic triad: conjunctivitis, cough and runny nose. The duration of fever was significantly longer in patients who did not receive measles vaccination, compared with vaccinated persons (7.50 ± 1.92 days and 6.60 ± 1.74 days, respectively). Unvaccinated individuals had also significantly longer duration of the prodromal period, which lasted 3.20 ± 1.48 days versus 2.50 ± 1.31 days in vaccinated patients. Persistence of rash was the shortest in infants (4.96 ± 1.29 days) and the longest — in children aged 1 to 2 years (6.09 ± 2.11 days). The complicated course of the disease was observed in 14.3 % of patients. Most complications (82.9 %) were associated with respiratory tract. Significantly higher incidence of complications was detected in patients with concomitant pathology. Conclusions. Clinical characte­ristics of measles in children depend on age and vaccination status.

Keywords

• children
• measles
• clinical picture