Table 2 Characteristics of patients with ZSH infection.
| n | Age (years)/sex | Clinical data | Immuno‐depression | Timing of LP from the first one (days) | CSF pleocytosis | CSF‐specific oligoclonal IgG* | Immunoblotting pattern of VZV antibodies CSF/serum | PCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 40/M | R L5 sciatica | + | − | 47 (97%) | − | −/− | + |
| +2 | 31 (95%) | − | −/− | + | ||||
| 29 | 56/F | Painful cruralgia, fever | − | − | 58 (94%) | − | ++>+ | − |
| 30 | 56/M | Headache, fever, L pyramidal syndrome, vertigo, L INO | − | − | 830 (100%) | − | ND | + |
| +6 | 150 (91%) | + | ND | + | ||||
| +62 | 42 (99%) | + | +++>++ | ND | ||||
| +120 | 88 (100%) | + | ++>+ | − | ||||
| 31 | 59/F | Confusion, headache, hallucinations | + | − | 390 (78%) | + | ++/++ | + |
| +10 | 144 (98%) | + | +++>++ | − |
CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; F, female; IgG, immunoglobulin G; INO, internuclear ophthalmoplegia; L, left; LP, lumbar puncture; M, male; ND, not done; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; R, right; VZV, varicella‐zoster virus; ZSH, zoster sine herpete.
+, present; −, absent; >, higher number of oligoclonal anti‐VZV antibodies in the CSF, indicating an intrathecal synthesis.
*In this column, +, intrathecal synthesis of oligoclonal IgG (patterns II and III); −, a polyclonal IgG background or a mirror pattern (patterns I and IV from Andersson et al5).