A Clinical Study of Inpatients with Eczema Herpeticum.
- Author:
Seok Hwan JANG
1
;
Sook Jung YUN
;
Jee Bum LEE
;
Seong Jin KIM
;
Seung Chul LEE
;
Young Ho WON
Author Information
1. Department of Dermatology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea. yhwon@chonnam.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Eczema herpeticum
- MeSH:
Anti-Bacterial Agents;
Antiviral Agents;
Causality;
Dermatitis, Atopic;
Dermatitis, Seborrheic;
Eczema*;
Epidemiologic Studies;
Female;
Fever;
Gwangju;
Headache;
Hospitalization;
Humans;
Inpatients*;
Jeollanam-do;
Kaposi Varicelliform Eruption*;
Korea;
Lymphatic Diseases;
Male;
Medical Records;
Retrospective Studies;
Simplexvirus;
Skin;
Skin Diseases;
Steroids
- From:Korean Journal of Dermatology
2015;53(8):623-627
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Eczema herpeticum (EH) is caused by viral infection, usually with the herpes simplex virus (HSV), and most often occurs in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Although EH is a common dermatosis, predisposing factors are largely unknown, and there have been few clinical and epidemiologic studies in Korea. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the clinical characteristics of inpatients diagnosed with EH over the last 10 years. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 62 patients who were diagnosed with EH and were hospitalized at the Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju from January 2004 to July 2014. RESULTS: The ratio of male to female patients with EH was about 2:1, and the mean age at onset of EH was 25.3 (+/-17.3) years. In this study, AD (67.7%) was the most common preceding skin disorder, followed by nummular eczema (6.5%), and seborrheic dermatitis (3.2%). Patients with EH had other systemic symptoms such as fever (22.6%), headache (4.8%), and lymphadenopathy (4.8%). Patients with recurrent infection of HSV had longer hospitalizations compared to those with primary infection (9.35 vs. 6.49 days), but the difference was not significant (p=0.269). There was no significant difference in the number of hospitalized days between patients receiving antiviral agents vs. antibiotics (p=0.153). Systemic steroids were administered in 66.1% patients, which had no correlation with the number of hospitalized days (p=0.203). CONCLUSION: The present retrospective analysis contributes to our understanding of the clinical characteristics of EH.
