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2013 Agenda and Abstracts | < Previous | Next > 2013 OMIG Abstract 26 Is Zoster Predominately a Disease of Caucasians? Purpose: To determine the racial demographic prevalence of Herpes Zoster (HZ) and Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO) at The University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on all UCMC patients with a diagnosis of HZ and HZO during a 5-year period from October 1st, 2007 to October 1st, 2012. Patients with HZO were further analyzed for the therapy received, duration of required treatment and underlying immunosuppressive conditions. Results: 1,706 patients at the UCMC were diagnosed with HZ. 102 patients (6% of all HZ cases) were diagnosed with HZO. There was no significant difference in occurrence of HZ (p=0.064) or HZO (p=0.46) between the two predominately represented racial groups, compared to the average UCMC demographics. Among all racial groups analyzed for HZ, the most prevalent were 51.3% African Americans and 30.4% Caucasian. Of those with HZO, 51.0% were African American and 35.3% were Caucasian. HZO patients were most commonly treated with oral valtrex (46.1%), required 1-2 weeks of antiviral therapy (42.2%) for successful treatment and did not have any active immunosuppressive conditions (56.9%). These findings were consistent among African American and Caucasian populations. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that in our patient population HZ and HZO have a similar prevalence among African American and Caucasian populations contrary to common thought in the literature. Selected treatment modalities, duration of therapy and underlying immunosuppressive conditions were similar across all racial groups analyzed for HZO. These findings may have clinical utility in estimating a patient's risk for developing HZ or HZO, as well as appropriate therapy. Disclosure: N 2013 Agenda and Abstracts | < Previous | Next >
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