A retrospective cohort study, of which the findings were published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, evaluated the long-term effectiveness of recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) in reducing the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) among patients 50 or older with IBD. For the study, Aakash Desai, MD, and colleagues utilized the TriNetX database and included 5,489 patients who received two doses of RZV (IBD-RZV cohort) and matched controls who did not receive RZV. Results showed that the IBD-RZV cohort had a significantly lower risk of HZ compared with the control group (adjusted OR [aOR], 0.44; 95% CI, 0.32-0.62). This risk reduction was observed across age groups (50-65, >65) and in patients with both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The findings suggest that RZV is associated with long-term protection against HZ in older patients with IBD. The researchers noted that strategies to enhance RZV utilization in this high-risk population are warranted.
