Herpes zoster in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia

V. M. Novelli, P. A. Brunell, C. F. Geiser, S. Narkewicz and L. Frierson
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.

Herpes zoster (HZ) occurred in 25% (28/88) of a population of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) who were seropositive for varicella zoster virus antibody before its onset; 16.5% (33/199) of the total group of children with ALL developed HZ. There were no deaths and only one significant complication, cutaneous disseminated disease, as a result of HZ. The small number of patients studied may have accounted for the failure to find a significant association between the occurrence of HZ and the type of ALL or chemotherapy protocol employed. Although HZ seemed to be more common in those patients who experience relapses of their leukemia, it did not portend a poor outcome for ALL.