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Introduction: Herpes zoster (HZ), or shingles, is caused by the reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) and typically presents as an acute, painful dermatomal rash, but can lead to long-term, distressing complications such as postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Increasing trends in HZ cases are evident globally among the aging population; however, reviews investigating the epidemiology and clinical management of HZ in Turkey are lacking. Therefore, a literature review of local studies in Turkey was conducted to identify the data available and identify gaps in the literature. Methods: Literature searches were carried out in PubMed and local journals to retrieve published articles that reported surveillance data, seroepidemiology, patient outcomes, or clinical management related to HZ or VZV in Turkey until April 30, 2022. Studies included primary data reports, case studies, secondary data reviews, and epidemiological studies in healthy or at-risk populations; HZ was the primary focus of the review. Results: No studies reported VZV or HZ epidemiological data at a national level. One large retrospective study in Istanbul reported that HZ incidence rates significantly increased in adults 18–44 years of age between 2011 and 2019. Four single-center studies reported the proportion of dermatological patients with HZ at 0.43–1.56%. PHN was the most common reported complication, occurring in 8–58.9% of patients with HZ. However, out of 39 identified case reports, HZ ophthalmicus was the most frequently reported complication. Two studies highlighted poor disease awareness and risk perception of HZ among Turkish citizens. Conclusion: Overall, there were limited comprehensive epidemiological data on HZ in Turkey. However, the abundance of case studies on HZ complications indicates a strong disease presence and diverse clinical management in Turkey. Further research will be important to understand the impact of HZ, increase disease awareness, and support the introduction of new preventative strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2013, Turkey introduced one-dose universal varicella vaccination (UVV) at 12 months of age. Inclusion of a second dose is being considered. Methods: We developed a dynamic transmission model to evaluate three vaccination strategies: single dose at 12 months (1D) or second dose at either 18 months (2D-short) or 6 years of age (2D-long). Costs and utilization were age-stratified and separated into inpatient and outpatient costs for varicella and herpes zoster (HZ). We ran the model including and excluding HZ-related costs and impact of exogenous boosting. Results: Five years post-introduction of UVV (1D), the projected varicella incidence rate decreases from 1,674 cases pre-vaccine to 80 cases/100,000 person-years. By 25 years, varicella incidence equilibrates at 39, 12, and 16 cases/100,000 person-years for 1D, 2D-short, and 2D-long strategies, respectively, using a highly effective vaccine. With or without including exogenous boosting impact and/or HZ-related costs and health benefits, the 1D strategy is least costly, but 2-dose strategies are cost-effective considering a willingness-to-pay threshold equivalent to the gross domestic product. The model predicted a modest increase in HZ burden during the first 20–30 years, after which time HZ incidence equilibrates at a lower rate than pre-vaccine. Conclusions: Our findings support adding a second varicella vaccine dose in Turkey, as doing so is highly cost-effective across a wide range of assumptions regarding the burden associated with varicella and HZ disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the features of the patients diagnosed as herpes zoster who have suffered from pain for >3 months. Methods: 200 patients who have been suffered from pain due to herpes zoster for >3 months and were admitted to Istanbul Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital Pain Clinic between January 2010 and August 2019 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: Of the 200 participant patients of this study, 108 (54%) were female and 92 (46%) were male. General age average was 68.60±11.85, varying from 32 to 92. On the first evaluation of the patients, visual analogue scale score varied from 5 to 9 and had an average of 7.02±1.07. Diabetes mellitus was recorded to be the most common co-existing disease in 60 (30%) patients. Thoracal region was recorded to be the most affected region in 93 (46.5%) patients. Conclusions: Herpes zoster is a major medical concern for Turkey. Number of patients with a diagnosis of postherpetic neuralgia is constantly increasing, hence there's also an increase in applications to pain clinics. This overwhelming number of patient applications are causing workload and medical costs to rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Design: Herpes zoster (HZ) occurs by reactivation of the latent varicella zoster virus at dorsal root ganglia. In the literature, there are studies on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with HZ in our country and in the world, however, there has been no study performed in our region. We aimed to evaluate demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with HZ and to investigate differences and similarities with other epidemiological studies in Turkey and in the world. Materials and Methods: One hundred sixty-six patients clinically diagnosed with HZ by dermatologists between January 2015 and December 2016 and were followed for 3 months in terms of possible complications were included this study. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded. Results: The mean age of the patients was 51.48±21.05 (1-90) years. Eighty-seven patients were female (52.4%), 79 were male (47.6%). Thirteen patients (7.8%) were in the pediatric age group (<18). The frequency of patient admission was highest in December and lowest in March. The most frequent locations of the lesions were thoracic (76 patients, 45.8%) and lumbar (40 patients, 24.1%) regions. The lesions were on the left side of the body in 96 (57.8%) and right side in 70 (42.2%) patients. The most frequent triggering factor was emotional stress. Post-herpetic neuralgia (27.7%) was the most frequently seen complication. The most common systemic comorbidity was hypertension. Malignancy was present in only 3 patients (1.8%). Conclusion: Our data were highly comparable with other studies. However, occurrence of HZ mostly during the winter and in the left side of the body was the difference from other studies. We conclude that further country-wide studies with larger number of patients are needed in order to clarify the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of HZ in our country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]