Herpes zoster-An indicator of a hidden COVID-19 infection-A case series

Abstract

Clinical presentation of COVID-19 infection can be variable in current pandemic even in patients presenting to the clinic with mild history of upper respiratory complaints. Various cutaneous manifestations have been noticed in COVID-19 patients with herpes zoster (HZ) being one among them. HZ is an infection that results that results when varicella-zoster virus reactivates from its latent state in a posterior dorsal root ganglion. Here, we aim to expand our knowledge by reporting three cases of associated zoster infection in COVID-19 patients admitted to our intensive care unit in view of respiratory complaints. All the three patients admitted had revealed lymphocytopenia at the time of HZ diagnosis and were managed conservatively throughout the course. In all the cases, acyclovir/valaciclovir led to the resolution of lesions in 10 days. No postherpetic sequelae were observed. We hereby suggest that the clinical presentation of HZ at the time of the current pandemic should be considered as an alarming sign for a latent subclinical SARS CoV2 infection and thorough follow-up of such patients be adopted.