UK's oldest chickenpox patient died from complications despite previously contracting disease

Unnamed pensioner passes away after heart attack after initially being misdiagnosed

Chickenpox can have serious complications including stroke and pneumonia (Getty/iStock)

A 97-year old woman has died from complications related to chickenpox, despite having previously suffered from the infection.

The unnamed pensioner died of a heart attack after a delay treating the disease, according to a report in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

She is thought to be the oldest person to suffer and die from the disease in the UK.

Chickenpox is an “ageless disease” and should not be automatically ruled out in older people, the report's authors warned. Early diagnosis and treatment are “essential” to avoid complications, they added.

The woman was first taken to the emergency department of London's Princess Royal University Hospital, after suffering from fever and vomiting.

She developed the characteristic rash associated with chickenpox four days earlier.

Doctors initially failed to diagnose the disease which they ruled out because of her age and initially thought she was suffering cellulitis and a rare, blister-causing condition, pemphigus, as possible causes.

Otherwise healthy and living alone independently, the pensioner was started on a steroid treatment for pemphigus. This was later determined to be “inappropriate”.

Chickenpox is caused by a virus, varicella zoster. It is most common in children and usually clears up on its own, although it can be dangerous in pregnant women, newborn babies and people with a weakened immune system.

Catching the disease twice is extremely rare because an initial infection means life-long immunity.

However the paper notes: “There are five distinct genotypes of the virus and multiple strains. Therefore, acquiring chickenpox from one strain may not always confer protection from infection by another strain.”

After two days of acute care the patients was moved to a geriatric ward where they reassessed her symptoms and came to the conclusion that chicken pox was the most likely candidate.

Although she was started on a new treatment and reported feeling better, she developed atrial fibrillation and suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction).

“Despite attempts to control her heart failure, she deteriorated and passed away 16 days into her admission,” the team wrote. “To our knowledge, we present the oldest reported case of primary varicella zoster infection in an immunocompetent patient.

“Due to the age of the patient, the condition was incorrectly diagnosed as pemphigus leading to inappropriate steroid administration.”

It says the lessons for future doctors, included not ruling out chickenpox on age alone and identifying and treating it early because “varicella zoster is associated with significant disease, including strokes and varicella pneumonitis.”