Atopic Dermatitis: a Short Summary
- Shingles is due to the activation of the herpes zostervirus (HZV) following its reactivation from doral ganglia following chicken pox.
- It is usually self-limited but after 60 there is a much higher incidence of pain following shingles (post-herpetic neuralgia). The pain can last from months to years afterwards.
- Incidence of shingles and post herpetic neuralgia was sought.
- The authors collected data from patients from 2007 to 2009, from a patient database using diagnostic and therapeutical codes:
- Shingles was considered if there was no evidence of shingles in the year preceeding the vaccine
- Post-herpetic neuralgia was diagnosed for those who developed pain more than 90 days after shingles
- 766330 people were included in the study. The median age was 75 years of age and 29785 received the vaccine (less than 4% of the study population (3.8%))
- Out of the whole group, 13100 developed zoster (incidence over the 3 year period of around 2% (1.7 %))
Key results with the vaccine
- The incidence of herpes zoster was reduced by 48%
- The incidence of herpes zoster in immunosuppressed individuals was reduced by 37%
- The incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia was reduced by 59%.
Comment: limitations include an imprecise diagnosis as the the collection is through diagnosis codes and thus indirect.
Contributors:
Dr Christophe HSU – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland
Source of Information: Langan S. et al. Herpes zoster vaccine effectiveness against incident herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia in an older US population. International Investigative Dermatology (IID) 2013 – Edinburgh, United Kingdom (UK)
Related posts