Evidence on herpes zoster developing during hospitalization, particularly among patients with malignancies and autoimmune diseases, remains limited. This retrospective cohort study evaluated its clinical characteristics and factors associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Conducted between 2015 and 2024, the study included 401 hospitalized patients. Following immunocompromised-status screening, 309 patients were included in the four-group comparison: malignant solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, autoimmune diseases, and immunocompetent patients.

Multidermatomal or disseminated herpes zoster accounted for 19.4%, 30.0%, 24.6%, and 20.3% of cases, respectively, without statistically significant differences. Immunocompromised groups also tended to report lower pain numerical rating scale (NRS) scores. Although crude PHN prevalence differed across groups (P=0.014), the adjusted…