Quality of Life Effects of Chickenpox on Hospitalised Children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Quality of Life Effects of Chickenpox on Hospitalised Children and their Families
IRAS ID
240389
Contact name
Robin Marlow
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Chickenpox is one of the commonest illnesses in childhood. For most children with mild disease it is unpleasant but other than a few scars they will have no long term consequences, however a small proportion will develop very severe potentially life threatening side effects.
Very effective vaccines exist against chickenpox and have been safely used in the rest of the world for over twenty years. However in the NHS new vaccines can only be introduced if they can be shown to be good value for money. The government body that assesses this, the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) examined the use of chickenpox vaccines in 2010 but advised against vaccine introduction. One of the main areas of uncertainty identified was the degree to which the quality of life of children and their parents is affected. JCVI are planning to reassess the use of chickenpox vaccines in late 2018-2019 and have requested more data to inform their decision making.
In order to address the JCVI’s request for more information, this study will collect more accurate data on the age distribution and impact on quality of life for children hospitalised by chickenpox and their families. To do this we will identify children hospitalised with chickenpox and ask them and their parents to fill out short diary cards made up of standard quality of life survey tools while in hospital. Then once home, once a week for the first month and then once a month until a final assessment at six months. There will be no interventions, tests or hospital visits as part of the study – just completion of simple diaries.Summary of Results
The study “Quality of Life Effects of Chickenpox on Hospitalised Children” was a multisite, observational study undertaken at ten NHS Foundation Trust Hospital Sites in England. This study was run from 2018 to 2022 and therefore was impacted by the challenges of conducting research during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study recruited children aged 0 to 16 years with acute varicella or secondary complications requiring admission to hospital. The aim was to collect more accurate data on the age distribution and impact on quality of life for children experiencing chickenpox, and the effect on their families. Chickenpox is one of the most common illnesses in childhood. For most children with mild disease it is unpleasant with no long-term consequences, however a small proportion will develop very severe and potentially life-threatening side effects.
155 participants were recruited across 10 sites. Compared to the only one other study that has measured the impact of varicella in UK children, we found mild chickenpox that did not need any medical attention was 1.5x and severe hospitalised chickenpox 10x worse than we previously thought
The results from this study were provided to the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to help inform their decision on whether the UK should routinely vaccinate children against chickenpox.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
18/ES/0040
Date of REC Opinion
27 Mar 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion