Epidemiology and infection
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Recent information on epidemiology and management of herpes zoster (HZ) and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), a painful complication of HZ, is scarce. The objective of this study was to document the burden of HZ and PHN in the United Kingdom. This retrospective analysis of the UK General Practice Research Database aimed to estimate HZ incidence and proportion of HZ patients developing PHN and to assess management costs in immunocompetent individuals aged 50 years. ⋯ Mean direct cost was pound103 per HZ patient and pound341 and pound397 per PHN episode (1- and 3-month definition respectively). Both HZ and PHN costs increased markedly with pain severity. This study confirms that HZ and PHN are frequent and costly diseases in the United Kingdom.