{
  "abstract": "Purpose To compare the recurrence rates of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) keratitis (HSK) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) keratitis (VZK).Methods This was a cohort study of patients attending The Royal Liverpool University Hospital between January 2015 and September 2021 with virologically confirmed HSK and/or VZK with a follow-up period of 4 years. Patients with VZK were divided into those with and without a history or concurrence of herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO). Patients who had samples collected at each subsequent episode of keratitis were included.Results 1483 patients were included: 1002 (67.5%) with HSV-1, 472 (31.8%) with VZV and 9 (0.6%) with simultaneous HSV-1 and VZV. Of the 472 patients with VZV, 330 (69.9%) had an HZO-associated VZK (aged 62.3±19.4 years) and 142 patients (30.1%) (aged 54.9±19.2 years; p<0.01) an isolated VZK. Virologically confirmed VZK recurrence was uncommon (8/472, 1.7%) and did not differ between HZO-associated and isolated VZK (p=0.70). In contrast, virologically confirmed HSV recurrence occurred in 110/1002 (10.9%). Overall clinical recurrence (PCR positive and negative) was significantly higher in HSK than in VZK (25.1% vs 9.5%, p<0.01).Conclusion Compared with HSK, recurrence of VZK, either virologically confirmed or clinically defined, is very uncommon. A recurrent keratitis in a patient with a history of VZK or HSK may be due to HSV-1 or VZV reactivation.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK",
        "Department of Eye and Vision Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Davide Romano"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Rose Herbert"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Tobi Somerville"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Siddarth Nardeosingh"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Anuj Vakharia"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK",
        "Department of Eye and Vision Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Stephen B Kaye"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Comparative recurrence rates of varicella zoster virus and herpes simplex virus keratitis",
  "uid": "8d9f2932-5c62-52fd-ba8b-b48c6ec85dbe"
}