[Measles in the young adult. Clinical features of 201 cases]. / Sarampión en el adulto joven. Características clínicas en 201 casos.

ABSTRACT

The clinical and laboratory characteristics of 201 cases of measles and its associations with complications were analyzed during an outbreak of this disease in Mexico City. The complications were hepatitis (45%), bacterial pneumonia (17%), oral candidiasis (13%), upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage (13%), epistaxis (8%), encephalitis (4%), subcutaneous emphysema (2%), and hypocalcemic tetany (1%). In a subgroup of 20 consecutive patients hypocalcemia was found in 14 cases (70%), associated with high levels of calcitonin in three cases. An increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was observed in 83% of the patients, showing a significant association with the occurrence of complications (p = 0.04) especially in the patients with values of LDH above 750 IU/mL (odds ratio of 6.4). Two patients died (1% mortality). The young patients with measles can develop serious complications, and an increased level of LDH may be a prognostic indicative of these complications.