Analysis and efficacy of early comprehensive therapy in elderly patient with herpes zoster

Abstract

Objective To observe the efficiency and safety of comprehensive therapy in elderly patients with herpes zoster. Methods Sixty-four patients who were diagnosed with herpes zoster were divided into treatment group(group Ⅱ, n=34) and control group(group Ⅰ, n=30) based on different therapy ways. The group Ⅱ was given comprehensive treatment with drug, physical therapy, nerve block and ozone therapy, while the group I was only treated with drug and physical therapy. The degree of pain and quality of life were evaluated by visual analogue scale(VAS) and sleep interference score(SIS), the effective rate of pain relieving and the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia, thermal differences (△T) between the involved area of innervation and the corresponding area and changes in the thermal differences (△dT) before and after treatment were analyzed. Results After treatment, VAS and SIS scores, the effective rate of pain relieving and thermal differences (△dT) of both groups were significantly different compared with pretreatment(P<0.05), and the change of group Ⅱ were more obvious compared with group Ⅰ(P<0.05). The incidence of postherpetic neuralgia in group Ⅱ was 8.8%, and that in group I was 30.0%. Conclusions Early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment for elderly patients with herpes zoster, not only can relieve the acute symptoms, but also can reduce the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia. Key words: Herpes zoster; Postherpetic neuralgia; Thermography; Nerve block