Frequency of Putative Enteric Zoster Diagnosed Using Saliva Samples in Patients With Abdominal Pain: a Prospective Study

Asan Medical Center

Status: Completed

Conditions: Zoster With Other Complications; Abdominal Pain

Treatments: Diagnostic Test: Salivary VZV-DNA PCR

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03862092

2014-1186

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this study is to identify the frequency of enteric zoster using salivary varicella zoster virus (VZV) DNA PCR in patients who visit the emergency room due to acute abdominal pain.

Full description

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infects and establishes latency in neurons in the ganglia of the cranial nerve, dorsal root, and enteric ganglia. VZV reactivation in enteric neurons (enteric zoster) can cause nonspecific abdominal pain and/or serious gastrointestinal dysfunction without cutaneous manifestations. Detection of VZV DNA in saliva may be useful for identifying enteric zoster. We evaluated the frequency of putative enteric zoster based on the presence of salivary VZV DNA in patients with acute abdominal pain.

Adult patients who visited the emergency room due to moderate to severe acute abdominal pain were prospectively enrolled at a tertiary hospital between May 2019 and November 2019. Abdominopelvic computed tomography (APCT) was performed in all patients. Saliva samples were collected from all studied patients. Enteric zoster was suspected based on the presence of salivary VZV DNA, detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Enrollment: 50 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 79 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients aged ≥ 18, and < 80 years

• ER-visited patients with acute abdominal pain

  • Numerical rating scale (NRS) score ≥ 4
  • Unresponsive to gastrointestinal motility drug, antacid

Exclusion criteria

• Unwilling or unable to give informed consent forms
• Patients taking antiviral agents
• Patients complaining mild abdominal pain (NRS score ≤ 3)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Diagnostic

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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50 participants in 1 patient group

Patients with acute abdominal pain

Experimental group

Description:

Salivary VZV-DNA PCR was performed in patients who visited the emergency room due to acute abdominal pain.

Treatment:

Diagnostic Test: Salivary VZV-DNA PCR