Report
Diagnosis and Assessment of Pain Associated With Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2007.10.008Get rights and content
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Abstract

Accurate evaluation of pain plays a critical role in identifying new interventions for the treatment and prevention of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Different types of pain and other sensory symptoms are found in patients with herpes zoster, and these vary greatly with respect to their presence, location, duration, intensity, and quality. The results of recent studies of herpes zoster and PHN and the development of new methods for assessing neuropathic pain provide a foundation for diagnosing and assessing the pain associated with herpes zoster. We review the results of recent research to identify the essential components that must be considered in developing an evidence-based description of pain associated with herpes zoster and PHN.

Perspective

Comprehensive assessments of pain are necessary for clinical research on the epidemiology, natural history, pathophysiologic mechanisms, treatment, and prevention of pain in herpes zoster and PHN.

Key words

Herpes zoster
postherpetic neuralgia
diagnosis
assessment
acute pain
chronic pain

Cited by (0)

RHD has received grants/research support, consulting fees, or honoraria in the past year from Allergan, Balboa, Cara, CombinatoRx, Dara, Eli Lilly, Endo, EpiCept, Fralex, GlaxoSmithKline, Grünenthal, GW Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, KAI Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Inc., NeurogesX, Ono, Organon, Pfizer, Supernus, US Food and Drug Administration, US National Institutes of Health, US Veterans Administration, Wyeth, and XTL Development; JWG has received grants/research support, consulting fees, or honoraria in the past year from Astellas, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis, and ViroPharma; ALO has no relevant conflicts to report; SNR has received grants/research support, consulting fees, or honoraria in the past year from Medtronic, Novartis, and Ortho-McNeil; KES has received grants/research support, consulting fees, or honoraria in the past year from Merck & Co., Inc.; and RJW has received grants/research support, consulting fees, or honoraria in the past year from Chimerix, Gilead, and US National Institutes of Health.