Context Sensory impairment after spinal cord injury (SCI) may complicate herpes zoster (HZ) recognition.Findings A 76-year-old man with complete T4* paraplegia developed pruritus and vesicles in the right T4 dermatome without eruption-site pain. The asterisk denotes adjustment for stroke-related left upper-limb weakness. Empiric intravenous acyclovir preceded dermatology assessment. Contralateral shoulder and hand pain developed the day after eruption and was absent on the final treatment day.Conclusion/Clinical Relevance Focal pruritus warrants skin examination. When HZ is strongly suspected, timely empiric antiviral therapy should not await specialist assessment. The contralateral pain course was noteworthy, but an HZ-related mechanism remained uncertain.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
An et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: