Prevalence of Herpes Zoster in Various Age Groups at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan
Keywords:
Herpes zoster, varicella zoster, shingles, prevalence, prevalence in age groups, tertiary hospital, tertiary care hospital.Abstract
Background: Herpes zoster (HZ) is a painful neurocutaneous disease. It presents as reactivation of dormant varicella zoster virus that involves cranial nerves or sensory nerve ganglia of dorsal root resulting in spread of the virus in a dermatomal fashion. Objective: To determine the prevalence of herpes zoster in various age groups among patients attending the Outpatient department of Dermatology of Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi. Methods: This Observational study was conducted at Department of Dermatology, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi from January 1st, 2021 to June 30th, 2021. Record of all the patients visiting the outpatient department was obtained. Diagnoses were categorized into two groups: herpes-zoster and not-herpes-zoster. Prevalence was calculated for different genders and age groups and the statistical significance of the difference was assessed using chi-square test. Results: The overall prevalence of herpes zoster was 1.03%. Male to female ratio of prevalence was 1.02:1. The prevalence increases with age, with highest prevalence observed in patients in the 80-102 years age group. Conclusion: Prevalence of herpes zoster increases with age, highlighting the increased vulnerability of the elderly to this condition.References
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