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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1479640

Epidemiology of Herpes Zoster in National Guard Hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A 6-Year Retrospective Chart Review Study

Provisionally accepted
Fayssal Farahat Fayssal Farahat 1Mohammed AlZunitan Mohammed AlZunitan 1Asim Alsaedi Asim Alsaedi 2Wafa Al Nassir Wafa Al Nassir 3Ayman Elgammal Ayman Elgammal 4Syed Nazeer Syed Nazeer 5Majid Althaqafy Majid Althaqafy 2Aiman El-Saed Aiman El-Saed 1Nouf Al Enizi Nouf Al Enizi 1Sulafah Hakami Sulafah Hakami 1Zainab Alsharef Zainab Alsharef 6Adriana Guzman-Holst Adriana Guzman-Holst 7Majid Alshamrani Majid Alshamrani 1*
  • 1 Infection Prevention and Control Program, King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, MNGHA, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 2 Infection Prevention and Control Department, King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, MNGHA, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • 3 Infection Prevention and Control Department, Imam Abdulrahman Al Faisal Hospital, MNGHA, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Infection Prevention and Control Department, King Abdulaziz Hospital, MNGHA, Alahsaa, Saudi Arabia
  • 5 Infection Prevention and Control Department, Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, MNGHA, Almadina, Saudi Arabia
  • 6 GSK Vaccines, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • 7 GSK Vaccines, Wavre, Belgium

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) is increasing worldwide, imposing significant burden on healthcare resources. In Saudi Arabia, local epidemiological studies are limited, and HZ burden is unknown. This multi-center, hospital-based, retrospective medical chart review was conducted at five National Guard hospitals and affiliated primary care centers. Patients included military personnel, healthcare workers, and family dependents, in addition to noneligible individuals via referral from other healthcare systems. Data were retrospectively collected from electronic medical records of documented cases of HZ or related complications from January 2017-December 2022.1,019 HZ cases were identified, with the number of cases increasing annually (2017: 89; 2022: 279). Estimated HZ prevalence over the study period was 0.12%. Mean age of patients was 52.8 years and >50% were females. Most (73.9%) patients had ≥1 comorbidity, most commonly hypertension (38.9%) and diabetes (37.7%). HZ-related complications were detected in 31.3% of cases; post-herpetic neuralgia was diagnosed in 17.6% and disseminated HZ in 5.6% of patients.In total, 12.5% of patients were hospitalized; 1.2% required intensive care unit admission. Mean hospital stay was 10.1 days. Use of antiviral medications was reported in most cases (87.5%). Significant predictors of complicated HZ, identified via multivariable logistic regression analyses, were age ≥60 years (odds ratio=1.42; p=0.03), autoimmune disease (2.45; p<0.01), depression (2.68; p=0.02), and chronic lung disease (1.95; p=0.04).This study provides updated insights into HZ epidemiology in Saudi Arabia. A high proportion of patients identified in a hospital setting with HZ had comorbidities and a substantial proportion experienced complications.

    Keywords: Herpes Zoster, Saudi Arabia, Epidemiology, Post-herpetic Neuralgia, Comorbidity

    Received: 12 Aug 2024; Accepted: 15 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Farahat, AlZunitan, Alsaedi, Al Nassir, Elgammal, Nazeer, Althaqafy, El-Saed, Al Enizi, Hakami, Alsharef, Guzman-Holst and Alshamrani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Majid Alshamrani, Infection Prevention and Control Program, King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, MNGHA, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.