Table 2.
Clinical Characteristics of Herpes Zoster Episodes
| Clinical Findings | no. (%) |
|---|---|
| First HZ episode post-HCT | 194 |
| Months to event, median (IQR) | 19 (14.0–30.7) |
| Disseminated HZa | 16 (8.2) |
| Skin | 13 (81.3) |
| Visceral or CNS involvement | 4 (25) |
| Not reported | 2 (12.5) |
| Ocular disease | 8 (4.1) |
| Post-herpetic neuralgiab | 25 (12.9) |
| Recurrent HZ episode post-HCT | 31 |
| Months to event, median (IQR) | 14.5 (7.0–24.5) |
| Disseminated HZ | 0 |
| Post-herpetic neuralgia | 4 (12.9) |
Abbreviations: HZ, herpes zoster; HCT, hematopoietic cell transplantation; IQR, interquartile range; CNS, central nervous system
2 patients had GI disease, 1 had pulmonary disease, and 1 had CNS disease. 3 patients with visceral involvement also had skin involvement. The patients with GI or pulmonary disease has possible involvement by VZV based on clinical findings and response to acyclovir but did not have diagnostic confirmation. The patient with CNS disease had VZV identified by PCR in the CSF. Patients with disseminated disease based on skin findings had documentation of diffuse vesicular rashes in >2 dermatomes.
Post herpetic neuralgia was reported in 24% (9/37) of patients followed at our center and 10% (16/157) in patients who were followed at an outside institution.