The role of age-sex interaction in the development of post-herpetic neuralgia.

Post-herpetic neuralgia is the most frequent complication of herpes zoster and affects up to 30% of patients. Increased age is a well-recognized risk factor, while the role of gender is highly uncertain. Little research has been performed into a possible combined effect of age and sex in post-herpetic neuralgia. The objective of the study was to study the role of age and sex and their combined effect in the development of post-herpetic neuralgia. This retrospective study enrolled adult subjects with at least one episode of herpes zoster in the previous 10 y. A questionnaire on the patient's socio-demographic, anamnestic and clinical characteristics was administered by general practitioners. Multivariable logistic regression was used to detect relationships between post-herpetic neuralgia and age, sex and their interaction. Fifty-nine of 272 patients reported post-herpetic neuralgia: a prevalence of 21.7%. Subjects with post-herpetic neuralgia (mean age 70.9 years) were significantly older (P = .001) than those without (64.2 years), the standardised mean difference being 0.5; no significant between-sex association was revealed (P = .96). A fully adjusted multivariable logistic analysis, however, revealed a highly significant (P = .007) age-sex interaction, with an odds ratio of 0.92; this also showed that older males were more likely to report post-herpetic neuralgia than younger males, while no obvious age-associated pattern was observed among females. We discerned a significant age-by-sex interaction in the development of post-herpetic neuralgia, which suggests that the effect of age on the development of this condition may differ between men and women.

Predictive factors of clinical outcome in older surgical patients.

We aimed to identify predictors of mortality and length of stay-in hospital in older surgical patients. In 294 patients (mean age 74.1+/-6.4 years, 153 men), consecutively admitted to four surgery units of a university-teaching hospital to receive elective surgery (ES, 56.5%) or urgent surgery (US, 43.5%), the following variables were evaluated: demographics, clinical history (hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF), cerebrovascular accidents, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), active neoplasm, cognitive impairment, immobilization, pressure ulcers), physiopathology (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation, APACHE, II), cognition/function (Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, SPMSQ; activity of daily living, ADL; instrumental activity of daily living, IADL), comorbidity (Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, CIRS, 1 and 2) and anesthesiology (American Score Anesthesiologist, ASA). The vital status of the patient at 1 month after discharge and the duration of hospitalization were recorded. One-month mortality rate was 6.1%. Low hemoglobin and body mass index (BMI) values, increasing ASA score, and, only in US patients, ADL dependence and higher CIRS 1 score, were independently predictive of mortality. Low hemoglobin levels and, only in ES patients, higher CIRS 1 score were associated with prolonged hospitalization. Prognostic indicators specific to older people have limited value in mortality models in elderly surgical patients.