title: Failure of acyclovir sodium therapy in herpes simplex encephalitis.
abstract: Herpes simplex encephalitis is an important disease characterized by focal haemorrhagic necrosis of the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain. The mortality rate may be as high as 70% of untreated cases. Isolation of the virus from brain tissue is the most reliable means of diagnosis. Although some non-invasive diagnostic modalities have been investigated, none is as reliable as brain tissue sampling. Despite acceptance that acyclovir sodium is the most effective drug for treatment, there is not a consensus on the dosage and duration of the antiviral therapy because some patients fail to respond and sometimes there is recurrence following therapy. We report a case of encephalitis in a previously normal host who died after a 13-day course of acyclovir therapy with isolation of HSV-type 1 from the brain post mortem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Ondokuz Mayis University School of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gürses
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kalayci
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Işlek
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Us
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000821:virology*; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D004351:Drug Resistance; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D002443:Ceftriaxone; D000212:Acyclovir