Characteristic of Herpes Zoster in the Dermatology and Venereology Department of Bali Mandara General Hospital

Introduction: Herpes zoster, known as shingles is a unilateral painful, dermatomal rash caused by the reactivation and multiplications of latent varicella zoster virus (VZV) in dorsal root ganglia. Recent studies have shown that the incidence of HZ is increasing globally. It is estimated of HZ global cumulative incidence rates in general population at least 50 years of age are between 2.9-19.5 cases per 1000 individuals.1 Methods: In this descriptive retrospective study from, 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2023, we used 93 samples from secondary data collected from the patient's medical records from the Dermatology and Venereology Department at Bali Mandara General Hospital. The data were analyzed descriptively using Microsoft Office Excel 2021. Results: A total of 93 new patients were diagnosed with herpes zoster. From 93 patients were male predominance (53.76%). The highest age group was 45-64 years old in 40 patients (43.01%), followed by aged over 65 years old was 26 patients (27.96%). The most common sites of lesion were the thoracic region in 35 patients (37.63%), followed by the lumbar region in 23 patients (24.73%), ophthalmic region in 12 patients (12.90%), frontalis in 14 patients (15.05%), cervicalis in 8 patients (8.60%) and oticus region in 1 patient (1.08%). Majority of the patients have no risk factors in 66 patients (70.97%), followed by the most common risk factor was hypertension in 11 patients (11.83%), undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy in 4 patients (4.30%), post-operative cases in 3 patients (3.23%). The majority of patients had no complication with 45 patients (48.39%), followed by the most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia in 35 patients (37.63%), ocular complication in 9 patients (9.68%), cranial nerve palsy in 3 patients (3.23%), and Ramsay Hunt syndrome in 1 patient (1.08%). Conclusion: Most herpes zoster patients in the Dermatology and Venereology Department, Bali Mandara General Hospital from January 2019 to December 2023 were predominantly male (53.76%), aged between 45-64 years old in 40 patients (43.01%), the most common sites of lesion was thoracic region in 35 patients (37.63%). The highest risk factor was hypertension in 11 patients (11.83%) and the most common complication was postherpetic neuralgia in 35 patients (37.63%). Keywords: characteristic herpes zoster, risk factor of herpes zoster, complication of herpes zoster