Korean J Pediatr Infect Dis.  2005 Nov;12(2):195-201. 10.14776/kjpid.2005.12.2.195.

A Recent 10-Year Clinical and Epidemiological Study on Zoster under 20 Years Old

• Mok HR
• Park SY
• Lee SY
• Choi SR
• Jeong DC
• Chung SY
• Kim JH
• Hur JK
• Kang JH

• KMID: 2440014
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14776/kjpid.2005.12.2.195

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to investigate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of herpes zoster in children and adolescents in Korea and to delineate the effects of varicella vaccine on the incidence of zoster and its complication.
METHODS
We evaluated the clinical records of 201 patients younger than 20 years admitted for herpes zoster at four hospitals located in Kyung-Gi provine during Jul. 1995 to Jun. 2005.
RESULTS
The admitted patients for herpes zoster have increased during the past 10 years. The effects of varicella vaccine on the incidence of herpes zoster remain inconclusive in this study. Only twelve percent of the study patients had underlying diseases. In 34(17%) of 201 patients, complications were confirmed during hospitalization. Of 34 patients, meningitis occurred most frequently. Irrespective of varicella vaccination, occurrence of complications was higher in patients who had experienced varicella previously(=overt varicella infection) than patients who had not(=subclinical varicella infection). In case of no previous varicella history, we found complications to be much lower in those who had received the varicella vaccine than those who had not.
CONCLUSION
We cannot conclude whether the varicella vaccine has an effect on the increasing incidence of zoster. We can conclude that the subclinical varicella infection or vaccination for varicella might lead to a decreased incidence of zoster complications.

Keyword

Herpes zoster; Epidemiology; Varicella vaccine; Incidence of zoster complications

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Chickenpox
Chickenpox Vaccine
Child
Epidemiologic Studies*
Epidemiology
Gyeonggi-do
Herpes Zoster*
Hospitalization
Humans
Incidence
Korea
Meningitis
Vaccination
Chickenpox Vaccine