ArticleBMC infectious diseases2026
Clinical epidemiology and risk factors of herpes zoster in Türkiye: a decade-long, multicenter retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
27 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHerpes zoster (HZ) results from the reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in dorsal root ganglia, often triggered by immune decline. This multicenter study aimed to describe the frequency, clinical and demographic characteristics, and risk factors of HZ in Türkiye to inform clinical management and prevention strategies.
methodsThis retrospective analysis was conducted on 503 patients diagnosed with HZ between 2014 and 2024 across 17 hospitals in nine Turkish provinces. Data included demographics, comorbidities, immunosuppressive therapy, dermatomal involvement, rash duration, antiviral treatment, and vaccination status. Descriptive statistics were applied.
resultsA total of 503 patients were included in the study. Of these, 281 (55.9%) were female including 10 pregnant women (3.5%) and 222 (44.1%) were male, with a mean age of 59 ± 16 years (range: 20–101). Sixty-one patients (12.1%) were using immunosuppressive drugs during the zoster episode, and 324 (64.4%) had comorbid diseases. Strikingly, only one patient (0.2%) had received the zoster vaccine, highlighting a critical gap in preventive medicine. While 246 (48.9%) patients had a history of chickenpox during childhood, 11 (2.2%) had experienced more than one episode of zoster previously. Forty-three (8.6%) patients had multiple dermatome involvement, while 459 (91.4%) had single dermatome involvement. The distribution of dermatome involvement in order of frequency was as follows: thoracic (n = 256, 50.9%), lumbar (n = 110, 21.9%), sacral (n = 51, 10.1%), trigeminal (n = 100, 19.9%), cervical (n = 16, 3.2%), and periorbital (n = 16, 3.2%). The mean duration of rash was 15.1 days for all patients, while this duration was 15.3 days in those with comorbidities, 18.6 days in patients using immunosuppressive drugs, and 17.2 days in pregnant women. The antivirals used in treatment were valacyclovir (n = 310, 61.6%), acyclovir (n = 145, 28.8%), and brivudine (n = 18, 3.6%). The duration of rash was 14.6 days in those treated with valacyclovir, 16.1 days in those treated with brivudine, and 17.0 days in those treated with acyclovir.
conclusionHZ is a disease whose frequency increases particularly with advancing age, and careful management is required especially in patients with comorbidities, pregnant women, and those receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Identifying and informing individuals in risk groups, raising their awareness. The near-total absence of vaccination in our cohort underscores the urgent need for national health policies to improve vaccine accessibility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.