The incidence of herpes zoster in cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), dermatomyositis (DM), pemphigus vulgaris (PV), and bullous pemphigoid (BP).

BACKGROUND

Herpes zoster is a common condition that causes significant morbidity.

OBJECTIVE

This study determined the incidence of zoster in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), dermatomyositis (DM), pemphigus vulgaris (PV), and bullous pemphigoid (BP).

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study the electronic medical records of 186 patients with CLE, 103 with DM, 83 with PV, 44 with BP, and 152 healthy control patients were reviewed to confirm positive diagnoses of zoster.

RESULTS

The incidence of zoster per 1000 person-years was 29.4 in CLE, 55.4 in DM, 18.6 in PV, 10.2 in BP, and 3.9 in healthy control subjects. The mean age (SD) in years was 46.1 (14.9) for CLE, 52.2 (14.5) for DM, 51.8 (13.5) for PV, 71.44 (11.8) for BP, and 48.2 (18.2) for healthy control subjects. The incidence of zoster was significantly higher in the CLE (P = .0177) and DM (P = .0070) groups than the healthy control subjects, all of whom were of a similar mean age.

LIMITATIONS: The limitations of this study are the sample size, referral bias, and retrospective nature.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of zoster in patients with CLE and, particularly, DM was significantly higher than that of the healthy control subjects.