Herpes Zoster Infection in Childhood: An Evaluation of 24 Cases

Objective: Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus that resides in a dorsal root ganglion. HZ is rare in immunocompetent children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the demographic features, clinical manifestations and complications of children diagnosed as HZ at our dermatology clinic. Material and Methods: Patients under 18 years who presented with HZ to our dermatology clinic between October 2012 and September 2013 were retrospectively investigated. Age, gender, history of chickenpox, varicella vaccination, predisposing factors, clinical manifestations, associated diseases, use of immunosuppressive drugs, month of onset, complications and treatment were evaluated. results: Among the 24 patients diagnosed with HZ, 8 were girls (33.3%) and 16 were boys (66.6%). The median age was 13 years (2-17 years). While 16 (66.6%) patients had thoracic dermatome involvement, the rest had cervical (n=3, 12.5%), cervicothoracic (n=2, 8.3%), lumbar (n=3, 12.5%) dermatome involvement. None of the patients had disseminated eruption. Eight patients had local lymphadenopathy. All patients had pruritus and/or pain and eighteen patients had both pruritus and pain. Eleven patients had triggering factors such as emotional stress (originating from 1Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Deri ve Zührevi Hastalıklar Anabilim Dalı, Aydın, Türkiye 2Sivas Numune Hastanesi, Deri ve Zührevi Hastalıklar Kliniği, Sivas, Türkiye Münevver GÜVEN1, Emel ÇİÇEK BOZKURT2 Çocukluk Döneminde Herpes Zoster Enfeksiyonu: 24 Olgunun Değerlendirilmesi Herpes Zoster Infection in Childhood: An Evaluation of 24 Cases