Herpes zoster in COVID-19 patient: A coexistence or coincidence?

Afif Nurul Hidayati; Indah Purnamasari; Felix Hartanto; Tessa Thendria; Soraya Isfandiary Iskandar; Dewi Nurasrifah; Yuri Widia; Medhi Denisa Alinda

Herpes zoster in COVID-19 patient: A coexistence or coincidence?

Afif Nurul Hidayati, Indah Purnamasari, Felix Hartanto, Tessa Thendria, Soraya Isfandiary Iskandar, Dewi Nurasrifah, Yuri Widia, Medhi Denisa Alinda

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) reactivation has been identified during the acute or subacute stages of COVID-19 infection. This phenomenon may be attributed to immune changes in COVID-19 patients, such as dysregulation and fatigue of the cellular immunity. We report a case of COVID-19 patient with herpes zoster (HZ). A 26-year-old woman was consulted for painful red patches and blisters on her right cheek. She has previously been diagnosed with and treated for COVID-19 and mild pneumonia 10 days prior. A herpetiform distribution of vesicles was observed spreading according to the branch of the trigeminal nerve innervation. The findings led to a clinical diagnosis of HZ. We recommended the standard acyclovir regimen in addition to the oseltamivir prescribed by the pulmonologist. The symptoms were completely resolved after seven days of acyclovir treatment, with no further complications. This was to our knowledge, the first case of HZ in COVID-19 reported in our country.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	182-184
Number of pages	3
Journal	Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
Volume	17
Publication status	Published - Jun 2021

Keywords

COVID-19
Herpes zoster
Immune response

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title = "Herpes zoster in COVID-19 patient: A coexistence or coincidence?",

abstract = "Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) reactivation has been identified during the acute or subacute stages of COVID-19 infection. This phenomenon may be attributed to immune changes in COVID-19 patients, such as dysregulation and fatigue of the cellular immunity. We report a case of COVID-19 patient with herpes zoster (HZ). A 26-year-old woman was consulted for painful red patches and blisters on her right cheek. She has previously been diagnosed with and treated for COVID-19 and mild pneumonia 10 days prior. A herpetiform distribution of vesicles was observed spreading according to the branch of the trigeminal nerve innervation. The findings led to a clinical diagnosis of HZ. We recommended the standard acyclovir regimen in addition to the oseltamivir prescribed by the pulmonologist. The symptoms were completely resolved after seven days of acyclovir treatment, with no further complications. This was to our knowledge, the first case of HZ in COVID-19 reported in our country.",

keywords = "COVID-19, Herpes zoster, Immune response",

author = "Hidayati, {Afif Nurul} and Indah Purnamasari and Felix Hartanto and Tessa Thendria and Iskandar, {Soraya Isfandiary} and Dewi Nurasrifah and Yuri Widia and Alinda, {Medhi Denisa}",

year = "2021",

month = jun,

language = "English",

volume = "17",

pages = "182--184",

journal = "Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences",

issn = "1675-8544",

publisher = "Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Herpes zoster in COVID-19 patient

T2 - A coexistence or coincidence?

AU - Hidayati, Afif Nurul

AU - Purnamasari, Indah

AU - Hartanto, Felix

AU - Thendria, Tessa

AU - Iskandar, Soraya Isfandiary

AU - Nurasrifah, Dewi

AU - Widia, Yuri

AU - Alinda, Medhi Denisa

PY - 2021/6

Y1 - 2021/6

N2 - Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) reactivation has been identified during the acute or subacute stages of COVID-19 infection. This phenomenon may be attributed to immune changes in COVID-19 patients, such as dysregulation and fatigue of the cellular immunity. We report a case of COVID-19 patient with herpes zoster (HZ). A 26-year-old woman was consulted for painful red patches and blisters on her right cheek. She has previously been diagnosed with and treated for COVID-19 and mild pneumonia 10 days prior. A herpetiform distribution of vesicles was observed spreading according to the branch of the trigeminal nerve innervation. The findings led to a clinical diagnosis of HZ. We recommended the standard acyclovir regimen in addition to the oseltamivir prescribed by the pulmonologist. The symptoms were completely resolved after seven days of acyclovir treatment, with no further complications. This was to our knowledge, the first case of HZ in COVID-19 reported in our country.

AB - Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) reactivation has been identified during the acute or subacute stages of COVID-19 infection. This phenomenon may be attributed to immune changes in COVID-19 patients, such as dysregulation and fatigue of the cellular immunity. We report a case of COVID-19 patient with herpes zoster (HZ). A 26-year-old woman was consulted for painful red patches and blisters on her right cheek. She has previously been diagnosed with and treated for COVID-19 and mild pneumonia 10 days prior. A herpetiform distribution of vesicles was observed spreading according to the branch of the trigeminal nerve innervation. The findings led to a clinical diagnosis of HZ. We recommended the standard acyclovir regimen in addition to the oseltamivir prescribed by the pulmonologist. The symptoms were completely resolved after seven days of acyclovir treatment, with no further complications. This was to our knowledge, the first case of HZ in COVID-19 reported in our country.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Herpes zoster

KW - Immune response

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M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85108955793

SN - 1675-8544

VL - 17

SP - 182

EP - 184

JO - Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences

JF - Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences

ER -

Herpes zoster in COVID-19 patient: A coexistence or coincidence?

Abstract

Keywords

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