Difficulty in the diagnosis of herpes zoster - A case report

Herpes Zoster, commonly known as "copper tree", is a disease of viral etiology, defined by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) latent in the sensory ganglia, which presents with radicular pain accompanied by vesicular exanthema, erythema and edema, symptoms that are characterized by agreement stages of the disease. Decreased immunity causes viral reactivation and can be triggered by metabolic changes, surgical or dental procedures, and situations of stress or immunosuppression. It is an acute infection, which can be transmitted through contact with infected individuals, with more severe complications in immunocompromised adults more severely. In the present report, we describe a case of Herpes Zoster with late diagnosis in a female patient, 47 years old, hypertensive, compensated for the use of antihypertensive medication and with all the characteristics of the disease described in the literature. Physical examination of the patient showed acanthosis and anicterus with severe pain on the right face, vesicle lesions with presence of exudate, edema and erythema that did not exceed the midline. Tramadol was administered intravenously and after establishing treatment with antiviral and opioid, it took several days to evolve the clinical picture. Herpes Zoster is a mainly clinical diagnosis disease that can be performed with the patient's history and physical examination without presenting major complications.