Complications of measles

In most cases measles is a benign, but in some cases can cause a number of complications. After the disease may develop croup, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, in rare cases, pneumonia. Interstitial giant cell pneumonia occurs in children with systemic diseases and is accompanied by vivid respiratory symptoms and in lung tissue can be observed infiltrates and multinucleated giant cells.

Such symptoms may not be accompanied by typical disease lesions. In some cases, measles uncomplicated, can cause ulcers on the cornea and lead to keratitis and blindness. In 20% of cases in patients who have had measles, developed myocarditis with transient ECG changes without clinical symptoms of disease.

The cause of abdominal pain can be involvement of lymph nodes. Measles is often accompanied by hepatitis without clinical manifestations, which appears in the acute phase of the disease. Transferred during pregnancy measles rubella causes fetal death and teratogenic effects, like rubella, is not marked.

Repeated bacterial pneumonia caused due to streptococci, pneumococci, staphylococci, Bacillus of influenza and can lead to empyema or lung abscess. In Pediatrics measles may be complicated by bacterial otitis media, in the tropics the disease can cause pathology of bacterial origin, which threatens the patient with coma.

After three days, or a couple of weeks measles may be complicated by thrombocytopenia, infection can cause the formation of purpura, bleeding in the mouth, in the intestines and urinary tract. The disease also causes a transient suppression of delayed hypersensitivity to tuberculin and contribute to the exacerbation of tuberculosis and the emergence of new infections.

Complications of measles CNS

One of thousands of patients found encephalomyelitis with severe clinical symptoms, and the first manifestations occur in about five days or more after the first rash. Complication accompanied by high fever, headache, insomnia and coma. In some cases, patients are observed signs of focal lesions of the spinal cord or brain.

Measles encephalomyelitis in 10% of cases is the cause of lethal outcomes, except formoreover, there are also signs of persistent complications CNS: the disease can cause mental disorders, epilepsy and paralysis.

Uncomplicated course of illness causes half of the patients changes on EEG, while other CNS symptoms may be absent. Children who get measles in the background of malignant diseases of the lymphatic system and are treated with drugs that suppress the immune system, may develop a progressive encephalitis that can cause death of patients six months after the appearance of the first symptoms of measles.

In rare cases there are neurological complications: transverse or ascending myelitis. Rarely, the disease is accompanied by sklerosiruuschem the subacute panencephalitis.