title: A 70-year-old woman with shingles: review of herpes zoster.
abstract: Herpes zoster is a common late complication of varicella-zoster virus exposure and can be further complicated by postherpetic neuralgia. Ms A is a 70-year-old woman with shingles and Ramsay-Hunt syndrome who presented to the emergency department with a few days of earache followed by pain in the back of her head. Using her case as a springboard, the diagnosis, natural history, and treatment of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in immunocompetent older adults are reviewed, in addition to the effectiveness of the herpes zoster vaccine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CHB 303, 1600 Seventh Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35294-0011, USA. rwhitley@peds.uab.edu
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Whitley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016697:Herpes Zoster Oticus; D053061:Herpes Zoster Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D051474:Neuralgia, Postherpetic / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D053061:Herpes Zoster Vaccine