Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with diverse autoimmune rheumatic conditions taking different disease-modifying drugs (DMARDs) and immunosuppressants.
Methodology: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the Rheumatology and Dermatology Units of Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad from 12th March to 12th Sept 2022. A total of 243 patients, including both males and females with established diagnoses of different AIIRD were enrolled through a consecutive non-probability sampling technique. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.
Results: Out of 243 patients, 59 (24.3%) were male and 184 (75.7%) were female with a mean age of 40.9±13.4 years. The minimum age of the patients was over 1 year. Among AIIRD, rheumatoid arthritis was the most common disease (59.3%), followed by systemic lupus erythematosus (12.3%). Herpes zoster (HZ) infection developed in 17 out of 243 patients, showing a prevalence of 6.9% in AIIRD. A substantial number of HZ infections (55.6%) were attributable to SLE. Out of 17 patients, 47% were on a prescribed combination therapy of corticosteroids and immunosuppressants (p

Key words: Autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRD), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Herpes Zoster (HZ).