ArticleBMJ open2018
Quantifying the incidence and burden of herpes zoster in New Zealand general practice: a retrospective cohort study using a natural language processing software inference algorithm.
Article in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advancements in Herpes Zoster Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management: Systematic Review of Artificial Intelligence Applications.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Opportunities, challenges, and requirements for Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation in Primary Health Care (PHC): a systematic review.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic literature review of the epidemiology and burden of herpes zoster in selected locales in Asia Pacific.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic literature review of herpes zoster incidence worldwide.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2021Pooled it
- Varicella zoster virus infection and reactivation in a psychiatric ward during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case series analysis.Clinical and experimental vaccine research · 2026Article
- Article
- Herpes zoster vaccine effectiveness against herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in New Zealand: a retrospective cohort study.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- The leading global health challenges in the artificial intelligence era.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- Is primary health care ready for artificial intelligence? What do primary health care stakeholders say?BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2022Article
- Global herpes zoster incidence, burden of disease, and vaccine availability: a narrative review.Therapeutic advances in vaccines and immunotherapy · 2022Review
- Application of Artificial Intelligence in Community-Based Primary Health Care: Systematic Scoping Review and Critical Appraisal.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Herpes zoster in older adults in Ontario, 2002-2016: Investigating incidence and exploring equity.PloS one · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the incidence of primary care presentations for herpes zoster (zoster) in a representative New Zealand population and to evaluate the utilisation of primary healthcare services following zoster diagnosis.
designA cross-sectional retrospective cohort study used a natural language processing software inference algorithm to identify general practice consultations for zoster by interrogating 22 million electronic medical record (EMR) transactions routinely recorded from January 2005 to December 2015. Data linking enabled analysis of the demographics of each case. The frequency of doctor visits was assessed prior to and after the first consultation diagnosing zoster to determine health service utilisation.
settingGeneral practice, using EMRs from two primary health organisations located in the lower North Island, New Zealand.
participantsThirty-nine general practices consented interrogation of their EMRs to access deidentified records for all enrolled patients. Out-of-hours and practice nurse consultations were excluded.
main outcome measuresThe incidence of first and repeated zoster-related visits to the doctor across all age groups and associated patient demographics. To determine whether zoster affects workload in general practice.
resultsOverall, for 6 189 019 doctor consultations, the incidence of zoster was 48.6 per 10 000 patient-years (95% CI 47.6 to 49.6). Incidence increased from the age of 50 years to a peak rate of 128 per 10 000 in the age group of 80-90 years and was significantly higher in females than males (p<0.001). Over this 11-year period, incidence increased gradually, notably in those aged 80-85 years. Only 19% of patients had one or more follow-up zoster consultations within 12 months of a zoster index consultation. The frequency of consultations, for any reason, did not change between periods before and after the diagnosis.
conclusionsZoster consultations in general practice are rare, and the burden of these cases on overall general practice caseload is low.
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