Abstract

To determine the efficacy of betamethasone injection combined with famciclovir on herpes zoster and its effects on cytokines. The clinical data of 89 patients with herpes zoster treated in our hospital between October 2020 and June 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 42 patients treated with famciclovir (0.25 g) were included in the control group, and the other 47 patients treated with both famciclovir (0.25 g) and betamethasone injection (1 ml) were included in the study group. The levels of serum inflammatory factors (interleukin-6 and interleukin-10) in the two groups were analyzed and compared before and after treatment. The visual analogue scale was adopted for evaluating and comparing the pain degree of the two groups before and after treatment. The overall response rate and incidence of adverse reactions in the two groups were analyzed and compared, and the risk factors impacting the prognosis of patients were analyzed through logistics regression. Before treatment, the two groups were not greatly different in the levels of interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 (p>0.05), while after treatment, the interleukin-6 level in both groups decreased notably (p<0.0001), and the interleukin-10 level in them increased notably (p<0.0001). In addition, after treatment, the study group presented a notably lower interleukin-6 level and a notably higher interleukin-10 level than the control group (p<0.0001). Before treatment, the two groups were not greatly different in visual analogue scale score (p>0.05), while after treatment, visual analogue scale scores of both groups decreased notably (p<0.0001), with a more notable decrease in the study group than that in the control group (p<0.0001). A notably lower overall response rate was found in the control group than that in the study group (p=0.020), but no notable difference was found between the two groups in the total incidence of adverse reactions (p=0.834). According to univariate analysis, age, course of disease, underlying diseases, history of alcoholism and medication regimen were risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients. According to multivariate analysis, underlying diseases and medication regimen were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients. Compared with famciclovir alone, betamethasone injection combined with famciclovir is more effective in treating patients with herpes zoster, which can effectively improve the inflammatory factors and relieve the pain of patients, without increasing adverse reactions. In addition, underlying diseases and medication regimens are independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients with herpes zoster.