Clinical and psychosocial correlates of acute pain in herpes zoster.

Background: Acute and persistent pain are the most significant clinical manifestations of herpes zoster (HZ), but the characteristics of acute pain in HZ patients have been inadequately investigated.

Objectives: To correlate the severity of acute pain with clinical, demographic and psychosocial characteristics of HZ patients.

Study Design: Five hundred thirty-three patients with acute HZ were recruited by 119 dermatologists who collected medical and demographic data at diagnosis, provided counselling and therapy where appropriate and asked the patients to complete the Short Italian Questionnaire designed for comprehensive evaluation of HZ patients.