In preparation for clinical trials of a
vaccine against
herpes zoster (HZ), we conducted a prospective, observational study to evaluate (1) the
Zoster Brief
Pain Inventory (ZBPI), an HZ-specific questionnaire to quantify HZ
pain and discomfort, (2) an operational definition of
postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and (3) a severity-duration measure of the burden of illness caused by HZ. HZ patients aged 60 years or older (n = 121) were enrolled within 14 days of
rash onset and completed ZBPI, McGill
Pain Questionnaire Present
Pain Intensity (PPI), quality of life (QoL), and
activities of daily living (
ADL) questionnaires on a predetermined schedule. Reliability, measured by intraclass correlation coefficients within 14 days of
rash onset, ranged between 0.63 and 0.78. ZBPI
pain scores were strongly correlated with other
pain measures, interference with
ADL, and worsening QoL. The operational definition of PHN, a ZBPI
pain score of 3 or greater occurring 90 or more days after
rash onset, had high agreement with
pain worse than mild on the PPI (kappa = 0.72). The ZBPI
pain severity-duration measure had high correlations with severity-duration measures of
ADL interference, worsening QoL, and other
pain scales. These findings support the validity and utility of the ZBPI, the definition of PHN, and the severity-duration measure of the burden of HZ illness.
PERSPECTIVE: