{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,9]],"date-time":"2026-06-09T04:17:52Z","timestamp":1780978672317,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,3]],"date-time":"2024-01-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1704240000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Cardiac patients are particularly at risk of herpes zoster (HZ), which is associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events. This research aimed to analyze the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) among cardiac healthcare professionals (HPs). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a cardiological hospital in Italy. Multivariate regression models were built to identify factors associated with the outcomes of interest. Results: The response rate was 78.2% (154\/197). Overall, age &gt; 50 years and immunosuppression were recognized as risk factors for HZ by 38.3% and 75.3% of respondents, respectively. Regarding RZV, 29.1% of the HPs correctly responded about its schedule and 57.6% about the possibility of administration in immunocompromised individuals. This knowledge was significantly higher in HPs with a higher educational level (odds ratio (OR) = 4.42; 95%CI 1.70\u201311.47), in those who knew that HZ could cause postherpetic neuralgia (OR = 2.56; 95%CI 1.05\u20136.25) or major cardiovascular events (OR = 4.23; 95%CI 1.50\u201311.91), in those who had participated in professional updates on vaccinations (OR = 3.86; 95%CI 1.51\u20139.87) and in those who stated the need for further information about the RZV (OR = 6.43; 95%CI 1.42\u201329.98). Younger HPs (coefficient (\u03b2) = \u22120.02; 95%CI \u22120.04\u2013\u22120.01), those with a positive attitude toward RZV safety (\u03b2 = 2.92; 95%CI 2.49\u20133.36) and those who had previously cared for patients with HZ (\u03b2 = 0.45; 95%CI 0.03\u20130.88) reported a more positive attitude toward RZV effectiveness. The practice of recommending vaccination was more prevalent in younger HPs (OR = 0.94; 95%CI 0.89\u20130.99), in those who had a master\u2019s degree or higher education (OR = 7.21; 95%CI 1.44\u201336.08), in those with more positive attitudes toward RZV effectiveness (OR = 7.17; 95%CI 1.71\u201330.03) and in HPs who had already recommended the vaccine to patients in the past (OR = 4.03; 95%CI 1.08\u201314.96). Conclusions: Despite being a single-center study, our research brings attention to factors that currently impact cardiac HPs\u2019 approaches to RZV. The findings indicate potential measures to enhance HPs\u2019 awareness and practices, ultimately aiming to improve vaccination adherence and reduce the burden associated with HZ.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina60010093","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,3]],"date-time":"2024-01-03T11:31:50Z","timestamp":1704281510000},"page":"93","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Survey of Recombinant Zoster Vaccine among Cardiologists and Cardiac Nurses in Italy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"60","author":[{"given":"Domenico","family":"Ponticelli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8046-4574","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ippazio Cosimo","family":"Antonazzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Public Health Research, University of Milan\u2013Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy"},{"name":"Laboratory of Public Health, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20165 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1451-1878","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Losa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Public Health Research, University of Milan\u2013Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Zampella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Researcher, 81030 Lusciano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabio","family":"Di Marino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gaetano","family":"Mottola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mara Noemi","family":"Fede","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fortuna","family":"Gallucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roberto","family":"Magliuolo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"Rainone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carmine","family":"Del Giudice","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonella","family":"Arcari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Montevergine SpA, 83013 Mercogliano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0349-3221","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pietro","family":"Ferrara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Public Health Research, University of Milan\u2013Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy"},{"name":"Laboratory of Public Health, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20165 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.4065\/84.3.274","article-title":"Herpes Zoster (Shingles) and Postherpetic Neuralgia","volume":"84","author":"Sampathkumar","year":"2009","journal-title":"Mayo Clin. 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