Herpes zoster in patients with sarcoidosis

108 patients with sarcoidosis were retrospectively studied for the development of herpes zoster. Five of these patients (4.6%), 2 of whom were in their twenties, developed herpes zoster. Only 1 patient had been treated with an oral steroid. All 5 had extrathoracic lesions. Zoster tended to occur during the inactive stage of sarcoidosis and did not exacerbate the activity of the sarcoidosis. The clinical course of their zoster infection was typically benign. There have been few reports of herpes zoster in patients with sarcoidosis. Further studies are required to determine whether sarcoidosis predisposes to herpes zoster infection.