Observational studyBMC infectious diseases2014
Burden of herpes zoster-associated chronic pain in Italian patients aged 50 years and over (2009-2010): a GP-based prospective cohort study.
Observational study in BMC infectious diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Construction and validation of a prediction system for postherpetic neuralgia: based on meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Venlafaxine for the Prevention of Postherpetic Neuralgia in Patients with Acute Herpes Zoster: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- The Incidence of Herpes Zoster Complications: A Systematic Literature Review.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2024Review
- Healthy ageing: Herpes zoster infection and the role of zoster vaccination.NPJ vaccines · 2023Review
- Correlation between pain catastrophizing in acute herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia: a retrospective analysis.Journal of anesthesia · 2023Article
- Incidence of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in Italian adults aged ≥50 years: A prospective study.Preventive medicine reports · 2019Article
- The Economic Burden and Impact on Quality of Life of Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia in Individuals Aged 50 Years or Older in Italy.Open forum infectious diseases · 2019Article
- Measuring herpes zoster disease burden in São Paulo, Brazil: a clinico-epidemiological single-center study.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2018Observational
- Epidemiology and long-term disease burden of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in Taiwan: a population-based, propensity score-matched cohort study.BMC public health · 2018Article
- Impact of Herpes Zoster and Post-Herpetic Neuralgia on Health-Related Quality of Life in Japanese Adults Aged 60 Years or Older: Results from a Prospective, Observational Cohort Study.Clinical drug investigation · 2018Observational
- The effect and safety of ozone autohemotherapy combined with pharmacological therapy in postherpetic neuralgia.Journal of pain research · 2018Article
- Impact of Underlying Conditions on Zoster-Related Pain and on Quality of Life Following Zoster.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2017Observational
- Prevention of Herpes Zoster and its complications: From clinical evidence to real life experience.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2017Review
- Varicella-zoster virus infection: a review about varicella and herpes zoster.Anais brasileiros de dermatologiaReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPost-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication in herpes zoster (HZ) patients.
methodsWe performed a longitudinal, prospective study in 108 general practices throughout Italy to assess how many immunocompetent patients aged ≥50 years with newly diagnosed HZ develop HZ-associated pain, its duration and management over 6-months. HZ-associated pain was assessed by a direct question to the patient and by self-assessment of the worst pain felt in the previous two weeks on a visual analogue scale (VAS), a score ≥3 was taken as pain. PHN was defined as pain reported during the study period persisting for ≥3 months. Quality of life (QoL) was measured using the SF-12 questionnaire.
resultsAt enrolment, 370 of the 413 patients (89.6%) reported HZ-associated pain which was still present in 20.6% and 9.2% of patients after three and six months, respectively, despite many patients receiving recommended anti-viral therapy. The overall QoL scores were lower than those in healthy Italians of similar age; scores for patients with HZ-associated pain were lower. The presence of >50 vesicles and VAS score ≥3 at enrolment, and being male were significantly associated with PHN at three months.
conclusionsThese results suggest that HZ and PHN represent an important burden of disease in the elderly. There is a need for interventions that can prevent and reduce the burden of HZ to help improve the quality of life of the elderly. These data may be useful as baseline epidemiology data for the assessment of the impact of the VZV vaccine in Italy, after its implementation.
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