(404) Healthcare utilization in patients with postherpetic neuralgia

Prevalence and healthcare utilization of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in South Korea: disparity among patients with different immune statuses

OBJECTIVES Despite the clinical and epidemiological importance of herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), their disease and economic burden related to immune status has not been studied in South Korea. Our aim was to calculate the prevalence and rate of healthcare utilization related to HZ and PHN among Korean patients stratified by immune status. METHODS This retrospective study...

Postherpetic neuralgia.

Postherpetic Neuralgia and Trigeminal Neuralgia

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is an unpredictable complication of varicella zoster virus- (VZV-) induced herpes zoster (HZ) which often occurs in elderly and immunocompromised persons and which can induce psychosocial dysfunction and can negatively impact on quality of life. Preventive options for PHN include vaccination of high-risk persons against HZ, early use of antiviral agents, and robust ...

Local and Systemic Cytokine Expression in Patients with Postherpetic Neuralgia

BACKGROUND Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the painful complication of a varicella zoster virus reactivation. We investigated the systemic and local gene expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression in patients with PHN. METHODS Thirteen patients with PHN at the torso (Th4-S1) were recruited. Skin punch biopsies were obtained from the painful and the contralateral painless bod...

Treatment of postherpetic neuralgia.

Herpes zoster, a commonly seen condition in daily medical practice, is reported to occur in 10–20% of the population at some time during the lifespan. Chronic, intractable postherpetic neuralgia, a sequela of herpes zoster, presents a clinical challenge. In recent years, effective antiviral agents that can be used in the outpatient setting have been developed for the treatment of herpes zoster ...