title: A comparison study on the clinical effects of foscarnet sodium injection and interferon on human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients complicated with herpes zoster.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the clinical effects of foscarnet sodium injection and interferon on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients complicated with herpes zoster.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety HIV-infected patients complicated with herpes zoster were divided into a treatment group and a control group that were both treated routinely first. Then the control group and treatment group were administered with interferon and foscarnet sodium injection respectively for four consecutive weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After four weeks, the effective rates of the treatment and control groups were 95.6% and 80.0% respectively, which were significantly different (P < 0.05). The pain scores of the two groups were similar before treatment, but the scores of the treatment group were significantly lower than those of the control group two and four weeks after treatment (P < 0.05) as well as were significantly lower than those before treatment (P < 0.05). The numbers of CD4+ cells and the contents of IL-2 of both groups two and four weeks after treatment significantly exceeded those before treatment (P < 0.05), with significant inter-group differences also (P < 0.05). Two and four weeks after treatment, the treatment group scored significantly higher in physical activity, energy, sleep, social life and emotional reaction than the control group did (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HIV-infected patients are prone to being complicated with herpes zoster. Compared with interferon, foscarnet sodium injection better improves the clinical outcomes by effectively relieving pain and by regulating immune mediated inflammatory diseases, thus boosting the prognostic quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Yuan-Yuan Qu, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan-Qu
authors.affiliation: Xiong-Ming Pu, Department of Dermatology, People's Hospital of Xinjiang, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xiong-Pu
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Jing Kang, Department of Dermatology, People's Hospital of Xinjiang, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao-Kang
authors.affiliation: Cai-Xia An, Department of Dermatology, People's Hospital of Xinjiang, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai-An
keywords: Foscarnet sodium; HIV infection; Herpes zoster; Interferon