Clinicodemographic Characteristics of Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO)

Purpose: Herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) is responsible for 10% to 20% of herpes zoster cases, leading to a prominent rate of visual and neurological complications. This manuscript evaluates the clinicodemographic characteristics of HZO at a primary hospital between 2014 and 2023. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 238 patients 12 years and older with HZO referred to Valiasr Hospital, Zanjan, Iran. Medical records were documented and analyzed subsequently using IBM SPSS version 24, focusing on the patient's basic demographic data, common clinical symptoms, risk factors, and complications. Results: The mean age of our patients was 57.36 years, with males consisting of 60.1% and 63.9% residing in urban areas. The most common symptoms included periorbital skin lesions (96.6%), severe edema (76.9%), headache (68.9%), and conjunctivitis (57.6%). Few patients (23.9%) experienced ocular manifestations, with a bit of right eye dominance at 48.7%. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that male patients had over twice the odds for conjunctivitis compared to female (aOR = 2.00, P = 0.036), whereas bacterial superinfections occurred more common in females (aOR male vs female = 0.26, P = 0.036), strongly associated with underlying diseases ( P = 0.001), and presence of risk factors ( P = 0.013). In total, complications were more frequent among rural residents compared to urban patients (53.5% vs 35.5%, adjusted OR = 0.55, P = 0.042). Conclusions: The majority of HZO participants were adult males, with periorbital lesions and edema comprising the most common symptoms. Complications were significantly higher in patients with underlying conditions and who live in rural areas. These results reflect the importance of timely monitoring, preventive treatments, and personalized health care interventions in high-risk patients, where access to medical resources may be limited.