Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Treating Low Back Pain in Failed Back Surgery Patients with Multicolumn-lead Spinal Cord Stimulation
Published on: June 26, 2018
Health care expenditure burden of persisting herpes zoster pain
Robert H Dworkin1, Richard White, Alec B O'Connor
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642, USA. robert_dworkin@urmc.rochester.edu
Objectives:
Pain can persist long after the resolution of herpes zoster, but little is known regarding its health care costs. The objective of this study was to determine the health care expenditures associated with persisting pain following herpes zoster by comparing expenditures for patients with postherpetic neuralgia or subacute herpetic neuralgia with a control group without these conditions.
Methods:
Health care expenditures attributable to persisting pain in herpes zoster patients were calculated using Thomson-Medstat's MarketScan databases to examine commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid claims for inpatient and outpatient services and outpatient prescription drugs.
Results:
Excess annualized costs were $4,917 for commercially insured patients, $2,696 for Medicare patients, and $9,310 for Medicaid patients.
Conclusions:
The substantial health care costs associated with persisting pain in herpes zoster have important public health implications given evidence that the incidence of herpes zoster is increasing and that the population is aging in the United States. The results provide a basis for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of existing treatments and emerging prevention strategies.
Related Concept Videos
Chickenpox
Genital Herpes
Herpes
Analgesia and Pain Management
Rheumatic Heart Disease III: Medical Management
Nephrotic Syndrome II : Assessment and Medical Management