Short-course intravenous aciclovir treatment for cutaneous herpes zoster in patients with HIV infection.
There are no comparative data on the treatment duration of cutaneous herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with HIV infection. We retrospectively reviewed all 51 adult patients with HIV infection presenting with cutaneous HZ in the 15-year period 1995-2009 treated with intravenous aciclovir alone. The median CD4 count was 297 (range 10-703) cells/mm(3). There were 44 episodes of localized and seven episodes of disseminated cutaneous HZ. Patients received a median of nine (range 3-17) doses of intravenous aciclovir given at a median dose of 6.5 (range 2.9-10.8) mg/kg eight hourly. One patient (2%) relapsed early and four patients (7.8%) relapsed late with further episodes of cutaneous HZ. Seven patients (13.7%) developed postherpetic neuralgia. Three days of intravenous aciclovir is effective treatment for cutaneous HZ in patients with HIV infection.
Infectious Disease Unit, Auckland City Hospital, Private Bag 92024, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. lisa.noonan@xtra.co.nz
L
L
Noonan
T
T
Gunson
R
R
Ellis-Pegler
M
M
Thomas
S
S
Briggs
D000212:Acyclovir / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051474:Neuralgia, Postherpetic / Q000175:diagnosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000212:Acyclovir