Characteristics of Japanese Patients With Disseminated Herpes Zoster: A Retrospective Study of 20 Cases

Abstract BackgroundThe risk of herpes zoster is increased among older and immunocompromised patients. However, it had been reported that Japanese tend to have a low BMI and that the patient characteristics of cellulitis is different from that of other countries. Due to the different characteristics of the Japanese population, we investigated for other characteristics unique to the Japanese population.MethodWe retrospectively examined cases of disseminated herpes zoster hospitalization between April 1, 2005, and March 31, 2018.ResultsThe mean patient age was 68.35 ± 15.76 years(mean ± SD). Recurrence was observed in only one patient. Hypertension was observed in 35%, hyperlipidemia in 25%, cancer in 30%, and autoimmune disease was found in 20% of patients. Based on the results of this study and previous reports, herpes zoster was more likely to occur among older immunosuppressed patients. In contrast to previous reports of hypertension occurrence in approximately 6% of Japanese patients, our findings indicated 35%. In addition, in contrast to the previously reported rate of hyperlipidemia of approximately 2% in the Japanese population, our results showed 25%. This suggested that hypertension and hyperlipidemia were also the risk factors for disseminated herpes zoster in Japanese patients.ConclusionHypertension and hyperlipidemia were the proposed risk factors for disseminated herpes zoster in Japanese patients, in addition to age and immunodeficiency.