Herpes Zoster after Fractured Spine Complicating E.C.T

Zoster Encephalomyelitis

“…Zoster has also been seen after a fractured spine in the corresponding dermatome. 44 Other cases include such injuries as a human bite below the left nipple,45 an iron splinter in the left thenar eminence,46 a whip stroke on the left calf,47 and the case of a man struck by lightning while shaving.48 Other reports in which the lateral period was much shorter make the causal relationship more sus¬ pect.49·50 Klauder51 reviewed six cases of zoster following trauma to the corresponding skin area and Amman 52 reviewed eight cases of ophthalmic zoster after injury to the eye or near to it; these injuries included blows from a fist, pieces of wood, and a cow's tail; splashes from solutions of indigo and lime, sodium hydrate and trisodium phosphate, and a gas explosion with facial burns. Though such injuries may be entirely fortuitous, it is perhaps worth noting that our patient, in driving his bulldozer, was liable to repeated slight injuries from the back of its metal seat to the skin area where his rash developed.…”