Key result
Acyclovir fails to prevent fatal chickenpox pneumonia in an asthmatic man on corticosteroids and methotrexate.
Why the study?
Fatal chickenpox pneumonia can occur in patients with severe chronic asthma treated with oral corticosteroids and methotrexate, highlighting a serious complication.
Case Report (n=1)
Highlights the potential for fatal outcomes in immunocompromised asthmatic patients who contract chickenpox, even with acyclovir treatment.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Fatal chickenpox pneumonia remains possible in corticosteroid- and methotrexate-treated asthmatics despite acyclovir; case reports leave optimal prevention open.
A 49 year old man with a long history of severe chronic asthma, treated with oral corticosteroids and weekly doses of methotrexate, contracted chickenpox from his son whose chickenpox rash had developed three weeks before presentation. Five days before admission the patient developed a vesicular skin rash which became extensive, with general malaise, bilateral pneumonia, and acute deterioration of his asthma. He died two weeks after admission despite treatment with acyclovir.
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Gatnash et al. (1995) conducted a case report in Severe chronic asthma and chickenpox pneumonia (n=1). Oral corticosteroids and methotrexate was evaluated on Death. A 49-year-old asthmatic man on oral corticosteroids and methotrexate developed fatal chickenpox pneumonia despite treatment with acyclovir.
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