[Erroneous prescriptions of aciclovir and valaciclovir in herpes zoster treatment].
Medical prescription errors are frequent in community settings and information exploring its magnitude during antiviral treatment of herpes zoster is scarce. A questionnaire was applied to 31 physicians working in hospital- or community-based settings in Santiago, Chile in order to characterize their dosing and timing preferences for aciclovir or valaciclovir prescriptions. Aciclovir was more often prescribed than valaciclovir (71.9 and 28.1%, respectively), but less than a third of prescription (27.3%) fulfilled the minimal aciclovir dosing and timing criteria for clinical efficacy (4 gr per day and <72 hours since rash initiation). The limited size of the simple prevented exploring factors linked to a misleading prescription. Appropriate knowledge on dosing and timing of aciclovir/valaciclovir therapy for herpes zoster was infrequent in a sample of physicians working in various clinical settings in Chile.
Fica C
Alberto
A
Sección de Infectología, Hospital Clínico, Universidad de Chile, Departamento de Medicina, Santiago, Chile. afica@redclinicauchile.cl
Jadue A
Carla
C
Donaire R
Luisa
L
D000212:Acyclovir / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000077483:Valacyclovir; D014633:Valine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D014633:Valine; D000077483:Valacyclovir; D000212:Acyclovir