Towards a personalized preventive strategy of Herpes zoster infection in patients with hematologic diseases or hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: a position paper from an <i>ad hoc</i> Italian expert panel
Corrado Girmenia,
Fabio Ciceri,
Paolo Corradini,
Antonio Cuneo,
Fortunato D’Ancona,
Pellegrino Musto,
Antonio Maria Risitano,
Maria Teresa Voso,
Adriano Venditti,
Giovanni Barosi
Affiliations
Corrado Girmenia
UOSD Pronto Soccorso e Accettazione Ematologica, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Dermatology, AOU Policlinico Umberto I, Rome
Fabio Ciceri
IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan
Paolo Corradini
Università degli Studi di Milano and Divisione Ematologia, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Milano
Antonio Cuneo
Division of Hematology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara
Fortunato D’Ancona
Department of Infectious Diseases, Italian Institute of Health (ISS), Rome
Pellegrino Musto
Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria-Consorziale (AOUC) - Policlinico, Bari, Italy; Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DIMEPRE-J), "Aldo Moro" University - School of Medicine, Bari
Antonio Maria Risitano
AORN San Giuseppe Moscati. Avellino
Maria Teresa Voso
Hematology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome
Adriano Venditti
Hematology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome
Giovanni Barosi
Center for the Study of Myelofibrosis. IRCCS Policlinico S. Matteo Foundation, Pavia
The identification of patients at high risk of herpes zoster (HZ) requiring a prevention strategy with antiviral prophylaxis and anti-HZ vaccine is a clinically relevant issue in patients with immunological impairment. Absence of trials comparing vaccination to pharmacological prophylaxis or defining their sequential use makes the optimal prevention strategy uncertain. This article presents the results of group discussion among an ad hoc constituted panel of experts aimed to review the literature regarding antiviral prophylaxis and vaccine efficacy and safety in populations with malignant and non-malignant hematological diseases, and submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The panel used the consensus methodology and proposed solutions for prevention strategy producing advice for the management of the most relevant unmet clinical needs. Such a comprehensive overview aims to support at the practice of HZ pharmacological and vaccine prevention and informing the design and the need of implementation of new studies in the field.
