Loading...
The pain of herpes zoster (shingles) causes considerable morbidity in elderly persons. A multicenter placebo-controlled study in the United Kingdom assessed the efficacy of oral acyclovir (800 mg five times per day for one week) in 364 patients over 60 years old. When treatment began within 48 hours of the appearance of the rash, patients had moderate but statistically significant reductions in pain and in the extent of the rash. Unfortunately, there was no effect on the incidence or severity of postherpetic neuralgia.
A multicenter study in the U.S. yielded similar short- term improvements in pain and skin rash when the same dose of acyclovir was used for ten days. In contrast to the British study, however, patients treated with acyclovir h…