[A statistical study of ocular complications of herpes zoster ophthalmicus and its prolongation factors]

A statistical study was carried out on 218 patients (107 male and 111 female) with herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) who visited our clinic from April 1985 to March 1992. The incidence of ocular complications (OCs) and the rate of prolonged OCs (over 6 months) were also studied with the factors that were considered to have affected them. There were 114 patients who showed OCs out of 218 HZO patients (52.3%). The incidence of OCs was higher among the patients with nose eruption than among those without (p < 0.001), and lower among the patients with acyclovir treatment in advance than among those without (p < 0.001). The rate of prolonged OCs was higher among the patients over 50 years old than among those under 50 years old (p < 0.05), higher among the patients with nose eruption than among those without (p < 0.05), and lower among the patients with acyclovir treatment in advance than among those without (p < 0.01). Those with nose eruption had a high rate of prolonged iritis. Severe visual acuity loss remained in 3 cases (2.6%): 2 cases of corneal opacity in the center and 1 case of neurouveitis. Two patients suffered from high intraocular pressure complicated with prolonged iritis.