Oral Acyclovir for Herpes Zoster

McKendrick, Michael W.; McGill, James; Bell, A; Hickmott, E.; Burke, Christine

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(84)90678-0

Cited by 31 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…For treatment of HZO, 800 mg of oral acyclovir should be prescribed five times daily (4 g per day), allowing plasmatic concentrations of 6,9 to 0,96 µmol/l, which are active on the majority of VZV strains. [56][57][58][59] According to clinical study versus placebo, for 7-10 days of treatment with this dosage significantly reduces the risk of ocular complications such as dendritic keratitis at the acute phase and the delayed inflammatory eye disease such as stromal keratitis, uveitis, episcleritis and scleritis. [60][61][62][63][64] The treatment should be started as soon as the rash begins because any delay may increase the risk of ocular complications.…”

Section: Antiviral Drugs: Mechanisms and Practical Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus—Diagnosis and Management

Rousseau¹,

Bourcier²,

Colin³

et al. 2013

US Ophthalmic Review

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Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infections are widely distributed in the general population. The lifetime risk of herpes zoster is estimated to be 10–20 %, increasing with age (1–4). Since herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) accounts for 20 % of all locations of shingles, the lifetime risk of HZO is about 1–2 %. The management of ocular complications of VZV infection is now well codified, but sequellae still can occur, despite an armamentarium effective in limiting viral replication and its immune consequences.

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Section: Antiviral Drugs: Mechanisms and Practical Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus—Diagnosis and Management

Rousseau¹,

Bourcier²,

Colin³

et al. 2013

US Ophthalmic Review

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“…PETERSLUND et al (1981) showed that the drug significantly improved the rate of healing of skin lesions and shortened the duration of pain in the acute phase of zoster. McKENDRICK et al (1984) have recently shown that oral acyclovir at a dose of 800 mg five times per day is effective in reducing the acute pain and time to healing of herpes zoster. These results have been confirmed by BEAN et al (1982) and MCGILL et al (1983).…”

Section: Herpes Zoster Infectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmacology of the Skin II

1989

Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology

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PrefaceThe recent interest in the pharmacology of the skin and the treatment of its diseases has come about for two reasons. The first is a realisation that many aspects of pharmacology can be studied as easily in human skin as in animal models, where they may be more relevant to human physiology and disease. Examples of this are the action of various vasoactive agents and the isolation of mediators of inflammation after UV irradiation and antigen-induced dermatitis. The second reason is the fortuitous realisation that a pharmacological approach to the treatment of skin disease need not always await the full elucidation of aetiology and mechanism. For example, whilst the argument continued unresolved as to whether the pilo-sebaceous infection which constitutes acne was due to a blocked duct or to a simple increase in sebum production, 13-cis retinoic acid, was found quite by chance totally to ablate the disease; again, whilst cyclosporin, fresh from its triumphs in organ transplantation, has been found able to suppress the rash of psoriasis, it has resuscitated the debate on aetiology.We are therefore entering a new era in which the pharmacology and clinical pharmacology of skin are being studied as a fascinating new way of exploring questions of human physiology and pharmacology as well as for the development and study of new drugs, use of which will improve disease control and at the same time help to define pathological mechanisms.It was because of this burgeoning interest in pharmacology of skin and its diseases, that this book came about. Indeed it is long overdue and was planned several years ago; we console ourselves with the thought that the delay may have served to help define certain principles which were then only just emerging.The book is divided into two volumes which are independent but complementary; the first being an account of the general pharmacology of skin, the second volume being more concerned with disease and drugs. The first volume is divided into two parts, the one dealing with the pharmacology of skin systems and their control and the other with autocoids in normal and inflamed skin. This second volume has three parts; the first part deals with the methods of measurement which are becoming of increasing importance both in studying the pharmacological effects of drugs and the clinical pharmacology of skin; the second deals with toxicology in its widest sense -including metabolism and percutaneous absorption; and the third is an account both of specific drugs and the drugs used for specific diseases.

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“…Oral acyclovir was administered as 400 mg five times daily for five days, and the authors suggested inadequate plasma levels may have contributed to the failure to achieve significance in other parameters.54 Studies with oral acyclovir 800 mg five times daily in herpes zoster are currently in progress. 54 Intravenous acyclovir has been shown to halt progression of the acute phase of herpes zoster in immunocompromised patients. 55-57 Acyclovir prevented progression of cutaneous dissemination and the development of visceral zoster.…”

Section: Varicella-zoster Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…sus Larger doses (800 mg four to five times daily), however, may be necessary to achieve the best outcome in the treatment of herpes zoster. 54 Oral acyclovir regimens should be adjusted in patients with renal insufficiency. Patients with creatinine clearances > 10 ml/min per 1.73 m 2 can be given 200 mg five times daily.…”

Section: Dosing Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Oral Acyclovir Therapy

Fletcher¹,

Bean

1985

Drug Intelligence & Clinical Pharmacy

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Acyclovir is a specific antiviral agent. The triphosphate form inhibits viral DNA replication by competing for incorporation into the replicating DNA chain or by inhibiting viral DNA polymerase. Cells not infected with herpesvirus are generally unaffected. Oral acyclovir inhibits most herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, and varicella-zoster virus at concentrations used clinically. Oral acyclovir has an average plasma half-life of three hours and is eliminated primarily by renal mechanisms. Peak plasma concentrations occur 1.5 to 2.5 hours after administration and the oral bioavailability is 15 to 30 percent. Acyclovir distributes into most body tissues, including vesicular fluid and the central nervous system. Oral acyclovir is effective treatment of initial and recurrent genital herpes and can suppress frequently recurring genital herpes in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. It is also effective for acute herpes zoster in the immunocompetent and possibly immunocompromised patient. No role is established in either Epstein-Barr virus or cytomegalovirus infections. Oral acyclovir appears to be effective and relatively safe, nontoxic therapy when administered in doses of 1-4 g/d. Oral acyclovir represents a major therapeutic advance in the treatment of herpesvirus infections.

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Oral Acyclovir for Herpes Zoster

Cited by 31 publications

References 4 publications

Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus—Diagnosis and Management

Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus—Diagnosis and Management

Pharmacology of the Skin II

Evaluation of Oral Acyclovir Therapy

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