Herpes zoster hospitalizations of patients with chronic illnesses in Spain, 1998–2004

Abstract

Herpes zoster affects 10–30% of the population during their lifetime and its incidence and severity increase substantially with age and the presence of some chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to describe the disease burden of patients hospitalised with herpes zoster who presented COPD, cardiovascular disease and/or diabetes. A retrospective study was performed using information obtained from the Minimum Data Set. All hospitalizations from 1998 to 2004 of patients aged ≥50 years with herpes zoster who also presented diabetes, COPD and/or chronic cardiovascular disease were selected. A total of 16,022 admissions for herpes zoster were identified in non immunocompromised patients aged ≥ 50 years. 69.4% of patients were aged ≥ 70 years. Specifically, 60.8% had diabetes and/or COPD and/or chronic cardiovascular disease and had a longer mean hospital stay (13.0 vs. 11.4 days), higher mean cost per patient (3,617€ vs. 3,275€) and a higher fatality rate (4.6% vs. 2.1%) than patients without these pathologies. Herpes zoster is a significant cause of death in people aged ≥ 50 years. The higher medical and economic hospital burden generated by the patients with diabetes, COPD and/or cardiovascular disease might indicate that an episode of herpes zoster could further compromise the health of these patients.