title: Acyclovir treatment of varicella in otherwise healthy children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether acyclovir administered orally affects the duration and severity of varicella in otherwise normal children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients' residence and university hospital clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred five children between 5 and 16 years of age with laboratory-confirmed varicella entered the study. Of the 102 who were included in the final analysis, 50 received acyclovir and 52 received placebo.
  
  
  METHODS
  Placebo or acyclovir was given orally four times daily, for 5 to 7 days. The acyclovir dose was adjusted as follows: 5 to 7 years of age, 20 mg/kg; 7 to 12 years, 15 mg/kg; and 12 to 16 years, 10 mg/kg.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acyclovir recipients, compared with the placebo group, defervesced sooner (median, 1 day vs 2 days; p = 0.001), experienced onset of cutaneous healing sooner, as reflected by a decrease in number of lesions (median, 3 days vs 2 days; p = 0.002), and had fewer skin lesions (median, 500 vs 336; p = 0.02). Acyclovir did not significantly change the rate of complications of varicella (10% in the acyclovir group vs 13.5% among placebo subjects). Adverse drug effects were not observed. Acyclovir recipients had lower geometric mean serum antibody titers to varicella-zoster virus than their placebo counterparts 4 weeks after the onset of illness, but antibody titers in both groups were similar 1 year later.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results provide evidence that acyclovir is useful and well tolerated for treatment of varicella in otherwise healthy children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota Health Sciences Center, Minneapolis 55455.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Balfour
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Suarez
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Heussner
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Englund
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Crane
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: McGuirt
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Clemmer
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Aeppli
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000293:Adolescent; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010919:Placebos; D011537:Pruritus / Q000473:pathology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos; D000212:Acyclovir