Segmental zoster abdominal paresis (zoster pseudohernia): a review of the literature

Herpes zoster is a distinct clinical syndrome that may present with a segmental zoster paresis. Although thoracic dermatomes are the most commonly affected, paresis of the abdominal muscles has been less frequently reported. To review the existing published evidence regarding this unusual clinical entity, a literature search of PubMed and Google was performed. In total, 35 articles that described 36 individual cases were identified. The information from all the cases was tabulated for the analysis. The mean age was 67.5 years. The ratio of men to women was approximately 4:1. The left and right side were approximately equally affected. The most affected associated dermatome was T11. In 88.9% of the patients, the typical herpetic rash preceded the abdominal weakness. The mean latent period from rash to onset of abdominal muscle weakness was 3.5 weeks. Electrodiagnostic studies confirmed the diagnosis in 95% of the tested patients. Complete recovery with conservative measures occurred in 79.3% of the patients who were followed-up for recovery, with a mean time for recovery of 4.9 months. Visceral neuropathy co-occurred in 19.4% of the patients. Because of its self-limited nature and good prognosis, recognition of this complication is important to prevent unnecessary diagnostic studies and procedures. Electrodiagnostic studies can be effectively used to confirm the diagnosis. Because visceral neuropathy commonly co-occurs with segmental zoster abdominal paresis, it should be actively investigated and treated.