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Herpes Zoster ED Visits Increased Between 2006-2013
JAMA Dermatol; ePub 2017 Jun 21; Dommasch, et al
The number of emergency department (ED) visits and total cost associated with herpes zoster (HZ) increased between 2006 and 2013 in the US, according to a recent study. Greater use was driven by an increased number of visits by patients aged 20 to 59 years, but populations recommended for vaccination (18 to 19 and ≥60 years) demonstrated decreased ED utilization. Researchers found:
- A total of 1,350,957 ED visits for HZ were identified between 2006 and 2013, representing 0.13% of all US ED visits.
- Of these patients, 563,200 (51.7%) were male; mean (SE) age was 54.0 (0.1) years.
- Between 2006 and 2013, the percentage of HZ-related ED visits increased from 0.13% to 0.14% (8.3%).
- For all age groups, there was an increase from 2006 to 2013 in overall adjusted total (from $92.83 to $202.47 million) and mean charges (from $763 to $1,262) for HZ-related ED visits.
Citation:
Dommasch ED, Joyce CJ, Mostaghimi A. Trends in nationwide herpes zoster emergency department utilization from 2006 to 2013. [Published online ahead of print June 21, 2017]. JAMA Dermatol. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.1546.