- Description
- Abnormal, painfull sensations in area of previous shingles eruption
-
- Cause
- Reactivation of latent
Varicella Virus
(Chicken Pox Virus) in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord, which leads to the
- manifestation of
Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
-
- Outbreak can be precipitated by immunosuppressive therapy,
malignancy, local irradiation, surgery, trauma or other viral diseases
- It occurs in all ages, but is most
prevalent in individuals during the sixth through eighth decade of life
- It can reoccur in 6% of the population
-
- Neurological
complications
- Postherpetic neuralgia: Recurring or continuing pain at the
site of shingles more than 1 month after onset of rash
- Aseptic meningitis
-
- Treatment
- Therapy is most effective in the multidisciplinary setting of
a Pain Alleviation center
- Some treatments used are:
- Antiviral therapy (Acyclovir, Valacyclovir,
Famciclovir, Sorivudine, BW882C87) during the acute stage of shingles
- Sympathetic blockade (within first 2 months)
- Topical lidocaine patch (transdermal
analgesia)
- Intra-venous lidocaine
- Topical application of Capsaicin (Hot Chili
Powder substance)
- Transdermal clonidine
- Antiepileptic drugs: gabapentin (Neurontin)
- Neurolytic Injections with phenol
- Radiofrequency lesions of dorsal ganglion
- Dorsal Columns Stimulator
- Recent
Developments
- A Varicella-Zoster vaccine has become available and offers the
hope that this painful condition may become uncommon or a
- mild disease by the mid-21st
century
- Acknowledgement
- The above information was abstracted from the following
article:
- Title: "Multidisciplinary Approach to
the Management of Postherpetic Neuralgia"
- Publication: Clinical Practice of Pain,
February 2000, Page 17-23
- Authors: Mahmood Ahmad, MD, Muhammad A.
Munir, MD, William E. Ackerman III, MD
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