title: The use of antiviral drugs during the neonatal period.
abstract: Parenteral therapy of viral infections of the newborn and infant began with vidarabine (adenine arabinoside) for the treatment of neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in the early 1980s. Acyclovir has become the treatment of choice for neonatal HSV infections and a variety of other herpesvirus infections. Ganciclovir is beneficial for the treatment of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections involving the central nervous system (CNS). This article reviews the use of acyclovir and ganciclovir in the treatment of neonatal HSV and congenital CMV infections. A brief summary precedes a detailed discussion of available established and alternative therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1600 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233-1711, USA. RWhitley@peds.uab.edu
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Whitley
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000151:congenital* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D015774:Ganciclovir; D000212:Acyclovir